Fuel exhaustion Accident Cessna 150M N533JR,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 285528
 
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Date:Monday 6 October 2008
Time:19:15 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic C150 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna 150M
Owner/operator:Jet Air Inc
Registration: N533JR
MSN: 15077267
Year of manufacture:1975
Total airframe hrs:5386 hours
Engine model:Continental O-200
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Iowa City, Iowa -   United States of America
Phase: Approach
Nature:Private
Departure airport:Cedar Rapids Airport, IA (CID/KCID)
Destination airport:Iowa City Airport, IA (IOW/KIOW)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot planned a local night flight to an airport approximately 16 miles north-northwest of the departure airport. He noted that the fuel gauges indicated nearly full on the left fuel tank and about 1/3 on the right fuel tank. The pilot indicated that he had not visually checked the fuel level prior to flight, but had relied on the fuel gauge indications. He reported that after departure, the flight proceeded to the intermediate airport as planned. He executed a practice Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach and landed without incident. The pilot stated that before the return flight, the fuel gauges indicated "a little less than full" on the left fuel tank and about 1/4 on the right fuel tank. After takeoff, the flight proceeded direct to the intended destination at 2,500 feet mean sea level (msl). With no reported traffic in the area, the pilot selected a straight-in approach. However, about 3/4 of a mile from the runway the engine began to lose power. His efforts to restore full power were not successful. The mixture control had not been adjusted after takeoff and was at full rich for the entire flight. He attempted to stretch the glide to reach the runway, but the left wing struck a tree during the approach. The airplane subsequently impacted an adjacent roadway. A post accident inspection by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that the fuel tanks did not appear to be breached, and that only a small amount of fuel remained in the fuel tanks. A review of the airplane flight log and fueling records revealed that it had been flown 3.4 hours since it was last refueled. Manufacturer's documentation noted that the airplane's fuel capacity was 26 gallons total, with 22.5 gallons usable. Fuel consumption ranged from 4.9 gallons per hour (gph) at 65-percent power to 5.9 gph at 78-percent power (full throttle) at 2,000 feet pressure altitude. Approximately an additional 0.8 gallons are consumed during start-up, taxi, and takeoff.

Probable Cause: Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's failure to visually verify that sufficient fuel was on-board prior to flight.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN09CA021
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 1 month
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB CEN09CA021

History of this aircraft

Other occurrences involving this aircraft
27 February 1993 N63369 Private 0 Xenia, OH sub

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
02-Oct-2022 11:03 ASN Update Bot Added

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