ANC08LA018 · Cessna 150

The certificated flight instructor (CFI) was providing flight instruction to a student pilot. While on a northerly approach to the runway, during dark night conditions, the CFI said he inadvertently allowed the student pilot to descend too steeply, and with a high airspeed. His verbal command for the student to stop the excessive descent and slow the airspeed was initially followed, but the student pilot again allowed the airplane to attain a rapid descent rate and high airspeed as the approach continued. The CFI took control of the airplane, added full engine power, and initiated a go-around. During the attempted go-around, the CFI said he encountered severe windshear. He wrote, in part: "I felt the aircraft had gotten into a severe vertical windshear, and no amount of power we had available was stopping the rate of descent, and we hit the ground." The airplane collided with a stand of trees and came to rest inverted, about 300 yards short of the approach end of the runway, sustaining substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. At the time of the accident wind conditions were reported to be 350 degrees (true) at 9 knots. An FAA airworthiness inspector reported that during his postaccident inspection of the airplane, no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane were discovered. Due to the absence of any mechanical problems with the airplane, the dark night conditions, and the relatively light winds reported at the time of the accident, it is probable that the accident could have been prevented if the CFI had provided better supervision of the student and initiated a go-around sooner.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset