Cessna 150J accident near Minersville, Utah, February 16, 2025
On February 16, 2025 at about 8:15 pm local time, a 1969 Cessna 150J, registered N151GW, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute (cruise) near Minersville, Utah. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the propeller blade due to fatigue that originated from an impact pit sustained at an unknown time. Contributing to the accident was the failure of unknown maintenance personnel to detect and repair the impact pit before painting the propeller, which obscured the damage.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 16, 2025 · about 8:15 pm local time
- Place
- Minersville, Utah · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150J, built 1969 · all 150Js on the register
- Registration
- N151GW · registry record · serial 15070186
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, who had recently purchased the airplane, he inspected the airplane’s propeller for damage before departing on a multi-leg cross country flight. During the second leg of the flight, one of the propeller blades separated about 17 inches from the hub. The pilot shut down the engine and was able to perform a forced landing on a rural road. The airplane sustained substantial damage to its airframe and engine mount from excessive vibrations caused by the propeller blade separation. The maintenance records for the airplane and propeller were incomplete, and the propeller’s maintenance and operational history could not be determined. Examination of the propeller revealed fracture features consistent with a fatigue crack that initiated from an impact pit on the blade face. The impact pit was one of several areas of damage consistent with debris impacts that were subsequently painted over and obscured with black paint. Measurement of the pit at the origin of the fatigue crack revealed it was within tolerance for a field repair; however, there was no indication any repair was performed. There was insufficient information to determine when the damage occurred or how long the fatigue crack had been present.
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
What happened, in order
- Part(s) separation from AC during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Propeller system › Propeller blade section › Fatigue/wear/corrosion
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Propeller system › Propeller blade section › Incorrect service/maintenance
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Propeller system › Propeller blade section › Inadequate inspection
- Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor › Propeller system › Propeller blade section › Failure
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 11,328 hours in all; 345 in this make and model; 147 in the last 90 days; 33 in the last 30 days; 6,160 as pilot in command; 350 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 8, 2024
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,995.6 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 11, 2024; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A1B (piston); 3,953 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CDC Cedar City UT at 7:55 pm
- Destination: UT9 Fairfield UT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 16 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.08 inHg
- Observation at 12:52 pm from KMLF, 12 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KMLF 161952Z AUTO 21016G21KT 10SM BKN120 07/M06 A3008 RMK AO2 SLP194 T00721061
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
7 documents, released by the NTSB on November 5, 2025. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Memorandum for Record A�� Telephone Interview, Pilot | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Maintenance Log Exerpts | PDF, 13 pages | View Download |
| 4 | Technical Data Exerpts | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Service Bulletin R-17 | PDF, 3 pages | View Download |
| 6 | Investigation Photographs | PDF, 6 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Materials Laboratory Factual Report 25-036 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number WPR25LA096.