Cessna 150 N5628E

Summary

On 14 April 2004 at about 00:20 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N5628E was involved in an accident near Magnolia, Arkansas, 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

14 April 2004 at 00:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Magnolia, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Magnolia Municipal Airport (AGO)

Coordinates

33.2278, -93.2167

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N5628E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Dorado → Magnolia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04LA116

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper pre-flight planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 288-hour pilot was on a cross country flight and landed at an airport to purchase fuel. Upon landing he noticed "that everything was shut down for the day." The pilot talked with a man in the terminal building, who informed him that he would have to wait about an hour for fuel service and he would have to pay a $30.00 "call-out" fee. He elected to fly to another airport about 20 miles away to purchase fuel. Before departing, the pilot performed a preflight inspection for the airplane, which included a visual inspection of both fuel tanks. He grabbed a broom from the back of a fuel truck and "stuck it in the fuel tank to check the level better." The left tank was just under 1/2-full, and the right tank was about 1/4-full. Approximately 10 miles from the airport the engine stopped producing power and the pilot landed in a field. Examination of the airplane revealed both fuel tanks were intact and empty. There was no evidence of a fuel spill or leak, and no mechanical deficiencies were noted. The pilot reported that he had made fuel stops along his route of flight. Examination of fueling records revealed the pilot had purchased 23.16 gallons at one stop a few days before the accident and 21.4 gallons on the day of the accident. The airplane was equipped with two standard fuel tanks, one in each wing. The total fuel capacity was 26 gallons (13 gallons each tank), and the total usable fuel capacity was 22.5 gallons (11.25 gallons each tank). In addition, the pilot told a law enforcement official at the accident site that he had run out of fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.