MORGAN HILL, CA, USA
N60764
Cessna 150J
Near the end of a cross-country flight, the student pilot performed an off-airport emergency landing 3 miles from his intended destination following loss of engine power. During the landing, the airplane collided with ground obstructions. The pilot later acknowledged that he exhausted the aircraft's fuel supply. He said that a fueler was supposed to have filled the aircraft to capacity prior to his departure but did not. During his preflight inspection of the aircraft the pilot did not remove the fuel caps and visually check that the tanks were full.
On August 1, 2000, at 1253 hours Pacific daylight time, a Cessna 150J, N60764, lost engine power and collided with ground obstructions during an off-airport forced landing 3 miles northeast of Morgan Hill, California. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was seriously injured. The aircraft, operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91, received substantial damage. The flight departed Fresno Yosemite International Airport, Fresno, California, at an unknown time, and was scheduled to terminate at South County Airport of Santa Clara, San Martin, California. Visual meteorological conditions existed for the instructional flight and no flight plan was filed. According to an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) San Jose (California) Flight Standards District Office, the pilot acknowledged in an interview that he ran out of fuel. The accident location was about 3 miles from his intended destination. The pilot said that a fueler was supposed to have filled the aircraft to capacity before his departure but evidently did not. During his preflight inspection of the aircraft the pilot did not remove the fuel caps and visually check that the tanks were full. The Safety Board mailed an NTSB form 6120.1/2, Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report on August 1, 2000, to the pilot's FAA address of record. A follow-up letter and copy of the form were sent August 25, 2000. Neither form was returned.
A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion, which resulted from the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and failure to verify the fuel supply onboard the airplane.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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