NTSB Factual Report

On July 11, 2018, about 2030 central daylight time, a Cessna 150H airplane, N50183, impacted terrain and sustained substantial damage after takeoff from Gaston's Airport (3M0), Lakeview, Arkansas. The student pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries. The airplane was registered to a private individual and was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a visual flight rules personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from 3M0 about 2028.

In a conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) on July 18, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector (ASI) from the FAA Little Rock Flight Standards District Office reported to the NTSB IIC that he spoke with the pilot July 16 via telephone. The pilot reported to the FAA ASI that after takeoff from runway 24, the right wing impacted a tree branch. The pilot reported he overcorrected from impacting the tree branch and aerodynamically stalled the airplane. The airplane impacted a grass clearing and came to rest inverted near trees. The pilot was extracted from the wreckage and transported via an air ambulance helicopter to a hospital for medical treatment.

The pilot did not report any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe and engine that would have precluded normal operation to the FAA ASI. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, both wings, and the empennage.

The 3,200-foot-long grass airstrip (heading 060/240 degrees) which runs parallel to the White River, is part of the Gaston's White River Resort and is about 1.5 miles southwest of Lakeview.