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Unauthorized landing goes bad

By NTSB · March 30, 2015 ·

The student pilot had an endorsement from his CFI to fly the Cessna 150 from the departure airport to another airport near Naples, Maine. During the flight the student pilot decided to make an unauthorized stop and land on a frozen lake to visit a friend.

The lake was covered with a layer of slush and snow. When the airplane touched down on the slushy surface, the nose landing gear collapsed and the plane flipped on to its back.

The NTSB determined the cause of the accident to be the student pilot’s improper decision to land on a frozen lake.

NTSB Identification: ERA13LA151

This March 2013 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.

About NTSB

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in the other modes of transportation, including railroad, transit, highway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. It determines the probable causes of accidents and issues safety recommendations aimed at preventing future occurrences.

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Comments

  1. Mary latimer says

    April 1, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    Interesting to read the various accident reports. These are almost always blamed on pilot error. Technically that is correct but willful misconduct or intentional deviation would be a better description. Most accidents are caused by intentional unsafe acts rather than unintentional mistakes.

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