Cessna 150H N6599S

Summary

On 20 June 1997 at about 20:20 local time, a Cessna 150H registered N6599S was involved in an accident near Sweet Home, Oregon, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 June 1997 at 20:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Sweet Home, Oregon, United States

Coordinates

44.3597, -122.6910

Aircraft

Cessna 150H

Registration

N6599S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA97LA146

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate preflight preparation and his inadequate inflight planning which resulted in fuel exhaustion. A factor was lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he fueled the airplane with 5.5 gallons of auto fuel and dipped the airplane's fuel tanks before takeoff (stating in his accident report that 'I must have misread the fuel dipstick.') The pilot was unable to provide a record of the most recent fueling. He reported the aircraft usable fuel quantity at takeoff as 13 gallons (usable fuel capacity is 22.5 gallons for standard tanks, with which the accident airplane was manufactured.) He stated that as the airplane was descending for landing, 4 to 5 miles from the airport, the engine stopped. The pilot was unable to glide to the airport, and turned toward an alternate field. The plane landed, hit a blackberry patch and an embankment, and spun onto a two-lane road where it came to rest. The accident occurred 1 hour and 12 minutes after takeoff (fuel burn at 65% power is about 5 gallons per hour.) An FAA inspector found only 1 1/2 gallons of fuel on board the aircraft at the accident scene (unusable fuel is 3 to 3 1/2 gallons.) No evidence of an inflight fuel leak or engine malfunction was found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.