Cessna 150 N561QL

Summary

On 1 July 2021 at about 18:00 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N561QL was involved in an accident near Carrollton, Alabama, 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

1 July 2021 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Carrollton, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

33.2900, -88.1518

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N561QL

Category

Airplane

Year built

1968

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Philadelphia → Reform

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA21LA307

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s incorrect preflight planning and poor in-flight planning, resulting in fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the damage was the inadvertent encounter with a hole during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Earlier that day, the pilot had flown the airplane on three flights with no airframe or engine issues reported. Prior to the accident flight, he used a dipstick to determine the total quantity of fuel in the left and right fuel tanks, noting they contained 4 gallons and 3 gallons, respectively. He added that the total amount did not account for the unusable fuel amount, which according to the airplane Type Certificate Data Sheet totaled 3.5 gallons. After takeoff with about 3.5 gallons of usable fuel on-board for the flight requiring 4 gallons, the flight climbed to 2,500 ft mean sea level where the pilot leaned the fuel to air ratio and proceeded towards the destination, with slight deviation due to weather while en route. He reported that as the flight continued, he knew he was low on fuel and when south of a nearby airport, he looked at his fuel gauges and in hindsight knew he should have landed there. He elected to continue, and after flying about 35 minutes, he “ran out of [fuel] 8 miles before [he] got there.” About the time of the loss of engine power the left fuel gauge was indicating more than 1/2 gallon and the right fuel gauge indicated empty, but they were lower than he had ever seen them. After experiencing a loss of engine power, he spotted a field below and performed S-turns and slips but landed faster than he liked. While at a slow speed, the nose landing gear rolled into a hole causing it to separate. The airplane came to rest upright with the tail elevated. The pilot, who was also an airframe and powerplant mechanic, reported that following the accident he drained the fuel strainer and only 2 ounces were recovered. He also drained a little over 1/2 gallon of fuel from the left fuel tank and no fuel from the right fuel tank. On the submitted NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report and also verbally, he indicated there was nothing mechanically wrong with the airframe or engine that caused the fuel exhaustion. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) received a report of damage to the airplane and inspected it on July 28, 2021; prior to this the event was not reported. Extensive damage to the engine mount was noted which constituted substantial damage. With no fuel in the fuel tanks and electrical power applied, the left fuel gauge was reading slightly above empty while the right fuel gauge was reading empty.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.