Cessna 150M N6206K

Summary

On 20 October 1997 at about 18:20 local time, a Cessna 150M registered N6206K was involved in an accident near Deming, New Mexico, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 October 1997 at 18:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Deming, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

32.2601, -107.7491

Aircraft

Cessna 150M

Registration

N6206K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Eloy

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98FA024

1 person died.

The loss of engine power due to fuel contamination. Contributing was unsuitable terrain consisting of high vegetation and sand.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane had been both hangared and kept outdoors since the summer of 1995. In May 1997, the Deming City Administrator observed the pilot transferring fuel from the sump of a 10,000 gallon fuel storage tank into a fuel truck. The pilot told him that he was bypassing the tank's sump to meet the fixed base operator (FBO) needs (the pilot was also the FBO manager). Approximately one month before the accident, the pilot told an FBO employee that he had drained the airplane's fuel tanks and asked that they be refilled. The employee said he put 14 to 15 gallons of fuel in the airplane (fuel capacity is 26 gallons). On the day of the accident, the pilot found the airplane's battery dead. He hand started the engine and departed for California. The alternator needs at least 3 volts current to energize its magnetic field for electrical power generation. The airplane was last seen flying west at an estimated altitude of 400 to 500 feet agl. The wreckage was found the next day in soft, sandy soil on level terrain, covered by 2 to 5 feet tall brush. Postcrash examination revealed that the flaps were up, and the gascolator and fuel tanks contained a fluid other than aviation fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.