Fuel exhaustion Accident Cessna 150F N3060X,
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ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 353540
 
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Date:Thursday 26 November 1998
Time:18:15 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic C150 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Cessna 150F
Owner/operator:Private
Registration: N3060X
MSN: 15064460
Total airframe hrs:6577 hours
Engine model:Continental O-200A
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:New Brockton, AL -   United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:Private
Departure airport:(KEDN)
Destination airport:
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot said that when he arrived at the airplane, he checked the fuel, and found 'around 12 or 13 gallons' of fuel in the tanks. He took off and flew for 'around 30 minutes.' He returned to the airport, landed and checked his fuel before taking off again. This time when he checked fuel he said there was 'around 8 to 9 gallons' of fuel in the tanks. He took off again with a different passenger, and flew for 'around 15 minutes.' Again he returned to the airport, landed, and checked his fuel. This time he said, '...the fuel tanks had a little more than quarter of tank of fuel (between 5 to 6 gallons.' He took off again with a third passenger, and was heading west, when he said 'the engine quite running.' He said, '...I tried to restart the engine and failed. I then scanned the area for a safe place to land...I found a field that was about 2 miles from were the engine quit. By the time I got to the field I was at tree top level...the field was just plowed, when the wheels touched down the nose gear stuck in the dirt and caused the airplane to flip over.' According to the FAA the pilot received the airplane with the tank 1/2 full of fuel, and could not purchase fuel, because of the Thanksgiving holiday. He flew some passengers around the local area for an unknown number of hours, and on the third flight, the airplane's engine failed. He completed a forced landing in a field and the airplane nosed over. Examination of the wreckage revealed no fuel in either of the airplane's fuel tanks or on the ground. The fuel tanks and fuel lines were not breached. The FAA report stated that the pilot, '...miscalculated his fuel causing the engine to stop and necessitating an emergency landing in a field.'

Probable Cause: the pilot's failure to perform fuel consumption calculations for the flight, resulting in a total power failure due to fuel exhaustion, and subsequent forced landing in soft terrain. Contributing factors in this accident were inadequate pre-flight planning and preparation.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: MIA99LA037
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 2 years and 2 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB MIA99LA037

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
10-Mar-2024 07:55 ASN Update Bot Added

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