Cessna 150-G N493RA

Summary

On 28 April 2004 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 150-G registered N493RA was involved in an accident near Livingston, Texas, United States. 2 people were 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

28 April 2004 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Livingston, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Livingston Municipal (00R)

Coordinates

30.6847, -95.0172

Aircraft

Cessna 150-G

Registration

N493RA

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Livingston → Livingston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04LA121

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to the blockage of the fuel system vents, resulting in fuel starvation. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The single-engine airplane experienced a loss of engine power, and the pilot executed a forced landing to a grassy field. According to the 175-hour private pilot, after takeoff he climbed to approximately 1,000 feet agl and flew in the local area for about 50 minutes. After making several circles around the airport, the engine started to run "rough." The pilot applied carburetor heat and maneuvered the airplane to set up for a forced landing into a field. He reported that the engine "appeared" to be starved from gas, and as he cycled the throttle, the engine would "restart." After several attempts to maintain engine RPM, the engine "quit." Subsequently, the pilot landed the airplane in a grassy field located across from the airport. During the roll-out, the front tire struck a small ditch, nosed-over, and came to rest inverted. An examination of both wing fuel caps revealed that their respective vents were "painted over," and when low pressure air was introduced to the left wing fuel vent, the vent appeared to be blocked. Higher pressure air was applied to the vent, and a "pop" was heard, as if the vent had "cleared" debris when the air was applied. According to entries in the airplane's maintenance logbooks, the last annual inspection was completed on March 15, 2003. Additional entries showed that the airplane had flown a total of approximately 1.4 hours (including the 50 minutes of the accident flight) since the annual inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.