N66241

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 14, 2014, about 1125 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N66241, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during the initial climb after takeoff from Mount Pleasant Regional Airport-Faison Field (LRO), Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. The commercial pilot and student pilot were fatally injured. The airplane was registered to Hanger Aviation, Inc., and operated by a private individual. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local instructional flight. The flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The airplane was operated by the student pilot's father, who in July 2014 employed Coastal Aviation, Inc., a flight school at LRO, to provide flight instruction to his son in the airplane. The owner of the flight school assigned the commercial pilot, who was recently hired as a flight instructor, to instruct the student. According to the student pilot's father, his son was attending college near LRO, and the commercial pilot helped him reposition the airplane to LRO for his son's convenience in the weeks that preceded the accident.

The commercial pilot and student pilot had previously completed approximately two 1-hour long instructional flights together. On the day of the accident, a witness observed the commercial pilot and the student pilot inspect the fuel for contaminants and check the flight controls during their preflight inspection. According to another witness, the airplane began its takeoff roll on runway 35, a 3,700-foot-long, asphalt runway, with the flaps fully extended. Several people reported that the airplane lifted off the ground about midfield and immediately looked unstable, which they described as the wings banking to the right and left. When the airplane reached an altitude of approximately 100 feet above ground level, it entered a steep left turn. Two pilots reported that the airplane then lost forward momentum and appeared to stall. It immediately entered a nose down attitude followed by a right wing low attitude and was in a "straight downward dive" when it impacted the ground. One of the witnesses who attempted to help the occupants reported a strong odor of fuel at the accident site. The witnesses did not report hearing any interruptions in engine power. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe commercial pilot, age 33, held a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land, airplane multiengine land and instrument airplane. He did not hold a flight instructor certificate, but had received a logbook endorsement from a flight instructor to take the practical test for his airplane single-engine flight instructor certificate. His most recent FAA first-class medical certificate was issued on May 25, 2011, at which time he reported 275 total flight hours. The last entry in the commercial pilot's logbook was dated June 9, 2014, which showed a total of approximately 350 flight hours. A review of his logbook entries from August 2007 to June 2014 indicated that he had not accumulated any time in the accident airplane make and model.

The student pilot, age 22, was seated in the left seat, and did not possess a medical certificate or student pilot certificate. His logbook was not recovered. According to the student pilot's father, his son had some experience as a passenger, but had not accumulated any formal training as a student pilot.

According to the owner of the flight school, the commercial pilot indicated that he was a certified flight instructor seeking employment. He was hired by Coastal Aviation, Inc. as a flight instructor in July 2014 and began providing instruction to the student pilot in early August 2014.

A flight schedule from Coastal Aviation was cross-referenced with logbooks provided by some of the commercial pilot's students to approximate how long the commercial pilot had been providing instruction. The logbooks included multiple entries that were signed off by the commercial pilot and included a "CFI" number. The review showed that the commercial pilot had provided about 8.5 hours of flight instruction in the 30 days that preceded the accident.

According to the owner of Coastal Aviation, Inc., the airplane was solely used as a training airplane for the student pilot. The commercial pilot and the student pilot were the only people who flew the airplane between the repositioning flight and the accident flight. He stated that the commercial pilot appeared alert on the morning of the accident and did not exhibit any signs of impairment. AIRCRAFT INFORMATIONThe two-seat, high-wing, fixed tricycle-gear airplane, was manufactured in 1974 and powered by a Continental Motors O-200-A84, 100-horsepower engine. A review of the airplane's maintenance history revealed that its most recent 100 hour inspection that was completed on January 13, 2014, at which time it had accumulated approximately 3,507 total hours in service. In addition, the engine had accrued about 1,690 total hours since major overhaul. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated an additional 16 hours since the inspection.

The wing flap system was electrically operated by a flap motor located in the right wing. The flap position was controlled by a switch and mechanically indicated by a pointer housed in the left front doorpost. During deployment, the flap switch lever is depressed and held in the DOWN position until the desired degree of extension is reached. When the operator releases the switch, the lever will return to the center position automatically through a spring in the switch case. The operator places the flap switch in the UP position to retract the flaps; however, the switch is designed to remain in the UP position without manual intervention. Once the flaps reach their maximum extension or retraction, limit switches will automatically shut off the flap motor. The flaps take approximately 9 seconds to fully deploy and about 6 seconds to completely retract.

According to the owner of the flight school, the commercial pilot did not report any issues with the wing flap system in the accident airplane prior to the accident flight. The father of the student pilot stated that he did not experience any issues when he operated the wing flaps during the previous repositioning flight.

The airplane was serviced with 10 gallons of 100-low-lead aviation grade gasoline the day before accident. METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATIONThe recorded weather at LRO, at 1115, included calm wind, visibility 8 statute miles, sky clear, temperature 27 degrees Celsius (C), dew point 19 degrees C; and a barometric altimeter of 30.04 inches of mercury.

Given the reported atmospheric conditions, the density altitude at the time of the accident was calculated as approximately 1,559 feet. AIRPORT INFORMATIONThe two-seat, high-wing, fixed tricycle-gear airplane, was manufactured in 1974 and powered by a Continental Motors O-200-A84, 100-horsepower engine. A review of the airplane's maintenance history revealed that its most recent 100 hour inspection that was completed on January 13, 2014, at which time it had accumulated approximately 3,507 total hours in service. In addition, the engine had accrued about 1,690 total hours since major overhaul. At the time of the accident, the airplane had accumulated an additional 16 hours since the inspection.

The wing flap system was electrically operated by a flap motor located in the right wing. The flap position was controlled by a switch and mechanically indicated by a pointer housed in the left front doorpost. During deployment, the flap switch lever is depressed and held in the DOWN position until the desired degree of extension is reached. When the operator releases the switch, the lever will return to the center position automatically through a spring in the switch case. The operator places the flap switch in the UP position to retract the flaps; however, the switch is designed to remain in the UP position without manual intervention. Once the flaps reach their maximum extension or retraction, limit switches will automatically shut off the flap motor. The flaps take approximately 9 seconds to fully deploy and about 6 seconds to completely retract.

According to the owner of the flight school, the commercial pilot did not report any issues with the wing flap system in the accident airplane prior to the accident flight. The father of the student pilot stated that he did not experience any issues when he operated the wing flaps during the previous repositioning flight.

The airplane was serviced with 10 gallons of 100-low-lead aviation grade gasoline the day before accident. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane came to rest in a near vertical, nose-down, position orientated on a 310-degree magnetic heading in a field of sparse vegetation about 1,100 feet beyond the departure end of runway 35. All major components of the airplane were accounted for at the accident site. No debris path was observed with the exception of a few pieces of Plexiglas that came to rest a few feet forward of the airplane.

The propeller blades and hub remained attached to the propeller flange, which exhibited multiple axial cracks. One propeller blade was bent aft at the inboard end and both propeller blades displayed chordwise scratches and polishing on their cambered sides.

Both wings remained attached to the fuselage and exhibited leading edge crush damage that spanned the entire length of each wing. Both ailerons were in the neutral position and each wing flap exhibited some upward bending. The flap actuator jackscrew displayed no threads, consistent with a flaps retracted position, and the flap switch was also in the neutral position. The flap motor was tested using a 12 volt battery and electrical continuity was confirmed for both the upward and downward movement of the flap mechanism. The wing fuel tanks were deformed, but not breached ...