Fort Wayne, IN, USA
N6922F
CESSNA 150F
The private pilot stated that he departed on a series of local flights with about 1 hour, 10 minutes of fuel onboard. The pilot stated that he made two 15-minute flights, and, about 1 minute after takeoff on the third flight, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot performed a forced landing, during which the airplane struck a power line, a house, and terrain. Examination of the fuel tanks revealed no useable fuel; neither tank was breached during the accident. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot miscalculated the total amount of fuel onboard and, thus, the total flight time before fuel exhaustion.
On September 26, 2015, about 0345 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150F, N6922F, impacted terrain and a house following a total loss of engine power during climb after takeoff from Smith Field Airport (SMD), Fort Wayne, Indiana. The airplane received substantial damage. The private pilot's injuries are unknown and a passenger's injuries were minor. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight that was not operating on a flight plan. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was originating from SMD at the time of the accident. Following the accident, the pilot had left the scene of the accident was not immediately located by law enforcement after a search that was documented in a Fort Wayne Police Department Report. Additionally, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Coordinator for the accident were unable to talk to the pilot after the accident. A statement provided with the pilot's NTSB 6120.1 accident report form, in part, stated: "Preflighted the aircraft, checked the oil. Dipped the fuel tanks approximately three and a half gallons in each tank, added five more for a total of seven useable, one hour and ten minutes flight time. Sumped both tanks saw a minute amount of water in the right tank. Re-sumped the right and didn't see any more water. Made two flights approximately 15 minutes each. Took off one more time and I was making one last flight a closed pattern, my passenger was around 270-280 in weight so I opted not to take on any more fuel due to the fact I thought there was at least 40 minutes of flight time left and I wanted to stay within weight and C.G limit. Approximately one minute after takeoff the engine sputtered, I leveled off and maintained 70 mph. Proceeded to make a slow bank back towards S.M.D. The engine caught and made power for a few seconds, thought I could make it to the runway so I proceeded towards the airport, the fuel tanks registered just shy of a quarter each. I rocked the wings pumped the throttle and the engine coughed, pumped the primer and engaged the starter, nothing. The plane was starting to stall through the top of the tree when the left main caught an electric line and jerked us left and nose forward into the ground with an airspeed of about 30 miles an hour." The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction/failure with the airplane. The recovery facility drained both fuel tanks and recovered approximately 1/3 gallon from the right fuel tank and approximately 6 ounces from the left fuel tank. Neither fuel tank had been breached. The quality of the fuel looked and smelled like automotive fuel mixed with a trace of 100 low lead. Testing of the fuel revealed that it contained at least 5 percent ethanol and was not MOGAS. A letter dated October 1, 2015, was sent to the pilot from the NTSB Investigator-In-Charge (IIC) requesting NTSB Form 6120.1 Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report to be completed and returned to the NTSB IIC. An NTSB Form 6120.1 form was received by the FAA Coordinator to the accident via email on October 26, 2015, from the pilot's attorney. Also, requested in the letter were any and all original pilot logbooks, any and all original aircraft maintenance records, any and all original aircraft logbooks, and the original aircraft registration certificate are to be provided for review by 4:00 pm on October 5, 2015, to the FAA Indianapolis Flight Standards District Office. On November 10, 2015, copies and not the original airframe and engine logbooks were received by the FAA Coordinator via mail from the pilot's attorney. According to the FAA Coordinator, N6922F, had been out of annual inspection requirements during from September 28, 2014 to May 29, 2015. The FAA Coordinator received copies and not the original pilot's logbook on November 25, 2015. The logbook copies showed two pages dated 2014, one of these pages had entries beginning with February 28 and ending with September 22, and the other page for 2014 began with May 28 and ended July 15. There was one page that had only one of seven entries entered, which was dated May 29, 2015; there were no additional pilot logbook flight entries on this page and there were no page totals, no amount forward, and no total to date. Another page had six of seven entries entered, beginning with May 30, 2015 and ending September 26, 2015. The entire page totals, amount forward, and total to date entries were not in the copy view.
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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