Cessna 150L N1321Q

Summary

On 3 March 1995 at about 22:35 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N1321Q was involved in an accident near Jefferson, Georgia, 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

3 March 1995 at 22:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Jefferson, Georgia, United States

Nearest airport

Jackson County Airport (19A)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N1321Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Dayton → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL95LA058

Nobody was injured.

THE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER BECAUSE OF STICKING VALVES. A FACTOR WAS THE CONTINUOUS USE OF AN IMPROPER FUEL GRADE.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH TREES DURING AN EMERGENCY DESCENT. ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, DURING A NON-PRECISION, INSTRUMENT APPROACH, THE ENGINE BEGAN RUNNING ROUGHLY. CARBURETOR HEAT WAS APPLIED WITHOUT EFFECT, AND THE ENGINE QUIT. A RE-START WAS ACCOMPLISHED AND THE ENGINE RAN FOR A FEW SECONDS. IT BEGAN TO RUN ROUGHLY, AGAIN, AND QUIT. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TREES AS THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO REACH AN OPEN FIELD. THE PILOT/OWNER STATED THAT HE REGULARLY USED AUTOMOTIVE GASOLINE TO FUEL HIS AIRPLANE. THE USE OF AUTOMOTIVE GASOLINE IS NOT APPROVED BY THE MANUFACTURER OF THE ENGINE, AND CONTINUOUS USE OF AUTOMOTIVE GASOLINE MAY LEAD TO STICKING OR CORRODED ENGINE VALVES. AN EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE REVEALED THAT THE LOSS OF POWER WAS CAUSED BY STUCK INTAKE AND EXHAUST VALVES WHILE IN FLIGHT.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.