Cessna 150D N5943T

Summary

On 6 January 2025 at about 15:58 local time, a Cessna 150D registered N5943T, operated by Mission Flight Academy, was involved in an accident near Temple City, California, United States. The number of people on board was not recorded. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 January 2025 at 15:58

Classification

Accident

Location

Temple City, California, United States

Nearest airport

San Gabriel Valley Airport (KEMT)

Coordinates

34.0943, -118.0431

Aircraft

Cessna 150D

Registration

N5943T

Category

Airplane

Year built

1964

Engines

1

Operator

Mission Flight Academy

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Monte → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR25LA073

Injuries not recorded.

The flight instructor’s unfamiliarity with the fuel quantities the fuel measuring dip stick measured and inadequate preflight inspection which resulted in fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that prior to the flight, he had measured the fuel levels in each fuel tank with a dip stick, which he had thought measured useable fuel only. He noted that the airplane had a total of 7 gallons of fuel, which he estimated was adequate for about 1.5 hours of flight time. After takeoff, they briefly flew around the area before returning to the departure airport, where they performed 4 low approaches to the runway before they performed a touch and go landing on the 5th approach. During the initial climb, about 1 hour into the flight, the engine momentarily lost power about 300 ft agl. The flight instructor took control of the airplane and turned towards the airport, however, the engine lost power again and he initiated a forced landing to a road. Shortly after, the engine regained full power for several seconds, and they were able to climb to about 75 ft agl before the engine lost power again. Subsequently, the airplane struck trees and a fence before it came to rest upright, which resulted in substantial damage to the left and right wings. The flight instructor reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. He added that he misunderstood what the fuel dip stick measured, and that it measured all the fuel in the fuel tank, which included unusable fuel (1.75 gallons in each fuel tank).

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.