Settlement With Crashed Plane’s Owner Reached

Fifth Judicial Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons has agreed to drop all charges against airport commissioner Phillip B. Cowger stemming from an October 2007 airplane crash near Clarksville, AR.

"Apparently, the victim was satisfied with a settlement [he and Cowger] reached, and he asked that the charges be dropped," Gibbons said. "In this instance, it was a theft of property case and there was no personal injury, and I decided to drop the charges at his request."

Cowger, 58, had faced a maximum sentence of 1 year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

The Russellville (AR) Courier reports Cowger took the airplane without the owner’s permission from the Russellville Municipal Airport on October 5, 2007, and flew from Russellville to Clarksville to meet James C. Wheeler for a flying lesson.

The Cessna 150 crashed after failing to develop full power on takeoff and clipped power lines off the end of the runway.

In its official report on the crash, the National Transportation Safety Board said "The airplane impacted power lines and terrain after takeoff from runway 9 (4,508 feet by 75 feet, asphalt).

"The accident takeoff began from a taxiway intersection, with approximately 4,000 feet of runway available. The dual student was slow in applying the throttle and an additional 200 - 500 feet of runway was used before full throttle was reached.

"After liftoff, the flight instructor noted that the airplane was not climbing as expected. He subsequently noticed that the engine tachometer indicated only 2,000 revolutions per minute (RPM), instead of the normal 2,500 RPM. The flight instructor reported that at that point there was no longer sufficient runway remaining to land, so he elected to continue the flight.

"He stated that the main landing gear struck power lines off the end of the runway, and the airplane subsequently impacted a field on the opposite side of the lines. The nose landing gear collapsed and the airplane came to rest."

Cowger and Wheeler both received minor injuries, and the airplane was substantially damaged, according to the NTSB report.

Probable causes of the crash included "failure of the flight instructor to identify the lack of airplane performance in a timely manner and to reject the takeoff...the partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons"...and "the presence of the power lines off the end of the runway."

FMI: Read The Full NTSB Probable Cause Report