Cessna 150A accident near Cottonwood, Arizona, January 16, 2007
On January 16, 2007 at about 11:20 pm local time, a Cessna 150A, registered N7218X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cottonwood, Arizona (Cottonwood Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to compensate for a gusty crosswind during the landing roll, which resulted in a loss of control and an on-ground encounter with a ditch. Factors associated with the accident are a crosswind and wind gusts.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 16, 2007 · about 11:20 pm local time
- Place
- Cottonwood, Arizona · Cottonwood Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150A · all 150As on the register
- Registration
- N7218X · no longer on the register · serial 15059318
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The certificated flight instructor, with a pilot-rated passenger in the left seat, was landing a tailwheel-converted airplane in gusty, right crosswind conditions. During the landing roll, the instructor lost directional control, and the airplane departed the runway to the right, and went into a ditch. In a written statement to the NTSB, the instructor indicated that there was a structural failure of the tailwheel-mounting bracket that precipitated the loss of control. Three pilot-rated witnesses responded to the accident site immediately after the accident, and none of them reported seeing any significant damage to the tailwheel assembly. A certificated aviation mechanic, and an FAA airworthiness inspector examined the airplane, and stated that the damage to the tailwheel was done during the recovery process, not during the accident. The owner of the airplane related to the NTSB investigator-in-charge that the instructor stated to him that he just lost directional control during the crosswind landing.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,239 hours in all; 48 in this make and model; 118 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 1,159 as pilot in command; 782 on instruments
- Last flight review: February 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,896 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PRC Prescott AZ at 9:40 pm
- Destination: P52 Cottonwood AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 32, 4,250 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 10 knots, gusting 12
- Visibility: 50 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 41°F (5°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.