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| NTSB Identification: LAX01FA198. |
| Accident occurred Sunday, June 03, 2001 at Tulare, CA |
| Aircraft: Cessna 150L, registration: N10531 |
| Injuries: 1 Fatal |
| Event: 20010607X01090 Status: Preliminary |
| NTSB Preliminary Narrative (6120.19A) |
| On June 3, 2001, at 1000 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150L, N10531, was substantially damaged when it crashed into a farm equipment |
| yard shortly after takeoff from Mefford Field (TLR), Tulare, California. The student pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated by |
| Anthony P. Sario, and was rented by the student for the local solo practice flight under 14 CFR Part 91. The airplane departed Visalia, California, |
| approximately 0945 for the 10-mile flight to Mefford Field. The student was going to practice takeoffs and landings. Visual meteorological |
| conditions prevailed for the flight, and no flight plan was filed. |
| A witness was at the Farm Exposition grounds, located adjacent to, and at the departure end, of runway 31 at Mefford Field. He was |
| participating in remote control (R.C.) airplane flying at a runway located on the grounds. He stated that he witnessed the airplane as it was |
| climbing from a departure on runway 31. He immediately noticed that the wing flaps were extended to what he believed was the full down |
| position. He saw the airplane climb straight out until it reached what he estimated to be 200 to 250 feet above the ground. He then noticed the |
| airplane begin a turn to the left, in a westerly direction, and saw the nose come up to a higher attitude. He remarked to a friend that the airplane |
| was going to stall. Shortly thereafter, the witness saw the airplane snap to the left, go straight down with the left wing slightly ahead of the |
| right, and disappear behind the trees. |
| A second witness, who is a certificated pilot, had his back to the runway and was conversing with the first witness. He heard the airplane |
| climbing behind him and turned around to look at it. He said that the engine sounded perfectly normal, like any other Cessna 150 on takeoff, but |
| he noted that the flaps were full down. He turned around to speak to the first witness, who then remarked, "It's going to stall." When he turned |
| around to look, the airplane had disappeared behind the trees. |
| Examination of the wreckage disclosed that the flap actuator jackscrew measured 5.9 inches extension. According to Cessna Aircraft, this |
| dimension corresponds to a flap extension of 40 degrees. Electrical continuity was established for the flap circuit. Internal examination of the |
| cockpit flap control switch revealed that the detents were unremarkable. Electrical power was supplied to the flap motor and it functioned in |
| both the extension and retraction directions. |
| The student had a total flight time of 38.5 hours, all of which were in the accident airplane. She had accomplished her first solo flight on |
| February 17, 2001, and had subsequently logged 5.4 hours of solo flight time prior to the accident. The flight just prior to the accident had been |
| on May 29, 2001, and was a dual lesson from the Visalia airport to Mefford Field and return to Visalia. The student had a logbook endorsement |
| from a flight instructor certifying proficiency in takeoffs and landings at Visalia and Mefford Field dated May 17, 2001. |
| Occurrences and Sequence of Events |
| No Occurrence records were found for: |
| NTSB Identification: LAX01FA198 |
| Event ID: 20010607X01090 |
| Aircraft Key: 1 |
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