NTSB Factual Report

On June 9, 2001, about 2015 central daylight time, a Cessna 150D, N5919T, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage on impact with trees and terrain during climbout from a private field near Milltown, Wisconsin. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot reported minor injuries. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.

The pilot stated, "No recollection of the accident."

A witness stated:

I was nearly done mowing and observed the second takeoff from about midway

on the 1300 foot grass headland of my bean field. He lifted off about

midway and began to climb but he seemed to be a bit slow for a climb. The

plane banked slightly to the left away from the tallest tree and then lost

altitude and disappeared from my view behind another fence row. I did not

observe it flying again and ran to the woods where I suspected I would

find the plane. The wings were badly damaged and the plane was pointing

west, opposite of my last observation, with the undamaged tail in a tree

but engine and propeller in the ground, nose gear was broken off, but main

wheels had apparently not touched the ground in the crash. [The pilot]

was hanging out of the left door, bleeding from his left eye and not

conscious. Due to the gasoline leaking and my fear of a fire I turned off

the electrical switch and carefully removed him from the cockpit by

unfastening his lap belt and getting his feet from under the rudder

peddles and easing him to a safe place about 6 feet away. From my cell

phone I finally contacted the 911 people (I had attempted a call before

reaching the site but got no answer) and help was quite quick to arrive

but to me of course they seemed rather slow. ... The time of my 911 call

is recorded in the cell phone as 8:23 PM.

My recollection is that the flaps were near full extension as he attempted

to climb and as they remain now after the crash, probably the same position

they were in when he landed the first time.

A Cessna 150 manual was reviewed. The manual stated, "Flap deflections of 30 [degrees] and 40 [degrees] are not recommended at any time for take-off."

NTSB Probable Cause

The stall/mush encountered by the pilot during that takeoff. Factors were the pilot's excessive lowering of the flaps during the takeoff and the trees.