Cessna 150L N6791G

Summary

On 2 August 2003 at about 19:30 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N6791G, operated by Nathan Carraway, was involved in an accident near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 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 August 2003 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Grider Field (PBF)

Coordinates

34.1731, -91.9356

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N6791G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Nathan Carraway

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Carlisle → Pine Bluff

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI03LA245

Nobody was injured.

Inadequate preflight planning which resulted in fuel exhaustion during the cross country flight. A factor associated with the accident was the rough terrain encountered during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane nosed over in a soybean field during a forced landing due to fuel exhaustion while on a cross country flight. The pilot made one quick en route stop and decided to make his second stop to refuel and check the weather. The airport where he landed had run out of fuel. The pilot was informed of another nearby airport that had just installed a new fuel pump. Upon reaching that airport, the only pump he could locate contained diesel fuel. The pilot then departed for another airport where he knew fuel was available. A loss of engine power occurred when he was approximately 5 miles away from the airport. The pilot reported the right fuel tank quantity indicator was showing one-quarter of a tank and the left fuel tank quantity indicator was bouncing between one-quarter tank and empty. The pilot reported that due to nearby obstructions, he elected to land on a small dirt road in a soybean field. He stated he lowered the flaps during the landing approach, but they did not extend all the way. He stated there were trees and a plow at the end of the road. The pilot stated that as the airplane touched down, he heard the flap motor running. The pilot reported, "As the trees ahead became closer I could sense that I had too much speed to stop in what I thought might be a safe distance from the trees and knew I had to turn, at the last moment and go into the soybean rows to dissipate the forward speed." He reported that once in the field, the airspeed decreased and the airplane nosed over. The pilot reported he flew a Hobbs time of 3.7 hours during the trip.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.