Cessna 150 N1718Q

Summary

On 22 June 2020 at about 16:40 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N1718Q was involved in an accident near Shelby, North Carolina, 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

22 June 2020 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Shelby, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Shelby-Cleveland County Rgnl (EHO)

Coordinates

35.2542, -81.5250

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N1718Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Greenville → Shelby

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA226

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight and inflight fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he completed a preflight inspection of the airplane he had recently purchased and departed with full fuel tanks. During the flight, while receiving flight following services from air traffic control, he was requested to adjust his heading and was eventually routed back on course. When the airplane was about 3 miles from the destination airport, the engine "sputter[ed]." The pilot verified that the fuel shutoff was on, primed the engine, and pumped the throttle with little improvement from the engine. He noted that when the airplane was pitched down, the engine would "sputter," and when it was pitched up, the engine would run. He checked the fuel quantity, and the left fuel gauge indicated 1/8 usable fuel and the right tank indicated "almost" 1/4 usable fuel. The pilot decided the airplane would not be able to make the airport and located a field to perform a forced landing. During the accident sequence, the airplane experienced a hard landing and the engine mount and left wing were substantially damaged. After the airplane was recovered, the pilot drained the unbreached fuel tanks and 3 gallons were removed from the airplane. According to the airplane Pilot Operating Handbook, the airplane held 26 total gallons of fuel, of which 22.5 gallons were useable. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation prior to the accident, however, the right fuel gauge was slightly incorrect.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.