Cessna 150 N3616J

Summary

On 2 April 1997 at about 19:10 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N3616J was involved in an accident near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 April 1997 at 19:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Coordinates

40.5099, -80.1593

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N3616J

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hazleton → Clrfld Lawrence

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD97LA056

Nobody was injured.

the student pilot inadvertently became lost/disoriented during a cross-country flight, and failed to use his radio for assistance, which led to fuel exhaustion, loss of engine power, and a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

After reviewing the flight planning, the flight instructor (CFI) approved the student pilot's solo cross-country flight. The student then departed on the cross-country flight for his destination, which was 110 miles away. The student said he found some of his check points, but after the planned elapsed time, he could not find the airport. He continued to search, and did not use his radio for assistance. The student became disoriented, and the airplane was tracked on radar into Class 'B' airspace, until it impacted the ground about 2 miles from an international airport. The student reported he was forced to land 'after running out of fuel' about 85 miles west of his destination. The airplane manual stated there were 3.5 gallons of unusable fuel. About 2.5 gallons of fuel were drained from the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.