Cessna 150D accident near Greenwater, Washington, October 2, 2005
On October 2, 2005 at about 2:00 am local time, a Cessna 150D, registered N4175U, was destroyed in an accident near Greenwater, Washington (Ranger Creek Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertently flying into IMC weather conditions, his failure to maintain sufficient airspeed for flight, and his subsequent inadvertent stall/mush into trees. Contributing factors were the fog and the trees.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 2, 2005 · about 2:00 am local time
- Place
- Greenwater, Washington · Ranger Creek Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150D · all 150Ds on the register
- Registration
- N4175U · no longer on the register · serial 15060175
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot said that soon after departure from runway 33, he inadvertently entered a fog "bank." He said that he attempted a climbing right turn to return to the clear air over the departure runway. He said that his airspeed dropped, and the aircraft stalled subsequently impacting trees and descended vertically to the mountain side. The airplane came to rest inverted bending and wrinkling both wings and the fuselage.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,850 hours in all; 0 in this make and model
- Last flight review: December 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,330 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 21W Greenwater WA
- Destination: 1SO Puyallup WA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 2,875 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,600 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.79 inHg
- Observation at 1:47 am from SMP, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.