WASHINGTON CROS, NJ, USA
N6101K
CESSNA 150M
WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT, THE AIRPLANE ENGINE LOST TOTAL POWER. THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING IN A FIELD. THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN NOSE FIRST, THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER. POSTACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT ANOMALIES. THE FUEL TANKS WERE EMPTY. NO FUEL LEAKS WERE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE FUEL SYSTEM AND THE FUEL TANKS WERE NOT BREACHED. THE ENGINE WAS REMOVED FROM THE AIRPLANE AND TESTED. THE ENGINE RAN WITH NO ANOMALIES NOTED. ACCORDING TO FUEL RECORDS, THE AIRPLANE WAS FLOWN 4.1 HOURS SINCE IT WAS LAST REFUELED.
On April 25, 1994, at 1519 hours eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150M, N6101K, nosed over after landing hard during the termination of a power off forced landing near Washington Crossing, New Jersey. The forced landing was precipitated by a total loss of engine power during cruise flight. The certificated private pilot and his passenger were not injured and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was being operated by the Norfolk Navy Flying Club of Norfolk, Virginia. The personal flight originated in Norfolk about 1200 hours and was destined for the Mercer County Airport in Trenton, New Jersey. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The pilot reported his preflight preparation indicated his planned flight from Norfolk to Trenton would take three hours. He stated he thought the airplane had about 4 hours of fuel on board. He stated the airplane was "topped off" prior to departure. The pilot reported that during the flight, somewhere near Mercer County Airport, he realized he had overflown the airport. He stated he contacted the Mercer County Airport's tower personnel and they told him his airplane's position. He reported he flew towards the airport and had the airport's tower in sight when the engine lost total power. He stated he tried to restart the engine to no avail. The pilot stated when the engine lost power, one fuel tank quantity gage was indicating "...just under half..." and the other fuel tank quantity gage was indicating "...just about a quarter." The pilot reported that he made a forced landing in a field and during touchdown the nosegear "...struck the ground first breaking off causing the cowl to dig into the dirt and flipping the aircraft on its back." He stated the accident occurred about 1520. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the fuel tanks were empty. No leaks were found throughout the fuel system and the fuel tanks were not breached. No fuel spillage was noted at the accident site. The engine was removed from the airplane and examined at an engine facility. The engine was started and ran with no anomalies noted. According to Piedmont Aviation Services fueling records, N6101K received 3.4 gallons of 100LL fuel at 1111 on the day of the accident. According to the Norfolk Navy Flying Club Records, the pilot checked out N6101K on the day of the accident at 1000 at a "Hobbs" meter reading of 2031.1 hours. After the accident, the "Hobbs" meter read 2035.2 hours. According to the Cessna Aircraft Pilot Operating Handbook (POH), the airplane had a fuel capacity of 26 gallons, of which 3.5 gallons were unusable. The Endurance Profile Charts in the POH revealed that at a 75% power setting, the airplane has an endurance time of about three hours and 20 minutes. The endurance time increases as the power setting decreases. At a power setting of 45%, the airplane has an endurance time of about five hours and 20 minutes. (See attached Endurance Profile Charts for detailed data).
the pilot-in-command's inadequate in-flight planning which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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