Cessna 150 N704HF

Summary

On 24 March 2007 at about 20:00 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N704HF, operated by Robert S. Varney, was involved in an accident near Okeechobee, Florida, 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

24 March 2007 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Okeechobee, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Okeechobee County (OBE)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N704HF

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Robert S. Varney

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Melbourne → Okeechobee

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA07CA064

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to refuel the airplane prior to fuel exhaustion, which resulted in a loss of engine power during final approach, and a collision with a ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that 9.5 gallons of fuel was onboard the airplane before takeoff. He cruised at an altitude of 3,500 mean sea level, for a flight of about 51 nautical miles, with an indicated airspeed of 110 knots. During final approach, about 250 feet above ground level, the airplane had a loss of engine power, and the pilot elected to land on the grass prior to the runway. The airplane impacted a ditch about 255 feet from the runway's threshold, and become airborne again. The nose gear bent, and the bottom cowling was damaged before it came to a stop. A person from the airport with a tractor assisted in towing the airplane into a hanger. As the airplane was towed, the pilot said he noticed fuel leaking from the airplane, and reached inside the cabin and turned the fuel selector valve off. The person who assisted the pilot stated to the airport manager that he did not see any fuel leaking during the recovery process, and confirmed with the pilot that the fuel selector valve was in the off position before the airplane was moved. The FAA inspector that conducted the postaccident examination drained 1.25 gallons of fuel from each wing tank, for a total of 2.5 gallons. The airplane's unusable fuel is 3.5 gallons.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.