Cessna 150L N11790

Summary

On 5 February 2011 at about 23:51 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N11790, operated by Michael Schaff, was involved in an accident near Gonzales, Louisiana, 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

5 February 2011 at 23:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Gonzales, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

30.1703, -90.9378

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N11790

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Michael Schaff

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Baton Rouge → Gonzales

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11CA221

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's failure to monitor the available fuel supply, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certified flight instructor did not visually inspect the fuel tanks prior to departure, but noted that the fuel gauge was just below the full mark, and the student pilot told him the fuel tanks were full. Based on his experience in the airplane, the instructor estimated a total of 4 hours of fuel on board and then departed on an instructional flight that included numerous practice take offs and landings. Approximately 3 hours into the flight, as they were returning to their home airport, the engine lost power. The instructor was unable to re-start the engine and made a forced landing to a grass field where the right wing impacted a tree, resulting in substantial damage to the strut. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector drained both fuel tanks and reported that approximately 3/4 of a gallon of fuel was drained from the right wing tank and 1/2 of a gallon of fuel was drained from the left wing tank. The fuel line to the carburetor was removed and some fuel was found in the line. The gascolator was removed and approximately 7 to 8 ounces of fuel (absent of debris) was recovered. The carburetor was removed and disassembled and approximately 2 ounces of fuel (absent of debris) was observed in the bowl. No mechanical deficiencies were noted with the airplane or engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.