SPRINGFIELD, OR, USA
N7741E
CESSNA 150
DURING HIS PRE-FLIGHT PLANNING, THE PILOT DETERMINED THAT HIS TIME EN ROUTE WOULD BE THREE HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES. LATER COMPUTATIONS PERFORMED BY THE NTSB IIC FOUND THAT THE FLIGHT SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ABOUT 4.2 HOURS. WHILE ATTEMPTING THE NON-STOP FLIGHT FROM BOISE, IDAHO TO EUGENE, OREGON, THE PILOT BYPASSED AIRPORTS AT WHICH HE COULD HAVE REFUELED. HE THEN EXPERIENCED FUEL EXHAUSTION ABOUT 15 MILES SHORT OF HIS DESTINATION. AT THE TIME WHICH THE ENGINE LOST POWER, THE LEFT FUEL TANK READ JUST ABOVE EMPTY, AND THE RIGHT TANK READ ABOUT ONE-QUARTER FULL.
On January 29, 1994, approximately 2035 Pacific standard time (PST), a Cessna 150, N7741E, collided with an object during the roll-out portion of a forced landing. The certified flight instructor was not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The personal pleasure flight, which departed Boise Air Terminal, Boise, Idaho, about 1730 mountain standard time (MST), was in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. The pilot, who had filed a VFR flight plan en route to Eugene, Oregon, was on a multi-day flight in order to deliver the recently purchased aircraft to the new owner in Anchorage, Alaska. Although the pilot said his planned time en route was about three hours and thirty minutes, performance computations completed by the NTSB IIC showed that the flight should have taken about 4.2 hours. According to the pilot, about four hours into the flight, the aircraft lost power while it was still about 15 miles east of the intended destination. At that point, the aircraft's left fuel tank gauge was reading slightly above empty, and the right tank showed about one-quarter full. After the loss of power, the pilot attempted a forced landing on a nearby street, and impacted a stop sign during the landing roll. Inspection of the aircraft after the accident revealed that both fuel tanks were empty. Although there were airports located along the route about 100 miles east of the final destination, the pilot attempted to fly the entire route without refueling.
FUEL EXHAUSTION, AND THE PILOT'S POOR INFLIGHT DECISION. FACTORS INCLUDE THE PILOT'S POOR PRE-FLIGHT PLANNING, AND A SIGN IN THE PATH OF THE LANDING ROLL.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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