Cessna 150L N11239

Summary

On 8 May 2005 at about 04:00 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N11239 was involved in an accident near Buffalo Grove, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 May 2005 at 04:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Buffalo Grove, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Palwaukee Municipal (PWK)

Coordinates

42.1142, -87.9014

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N11239

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Baraboo → Wheeling

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night/Bright

NTSB number

CHI05LA110

1 person was seriously injured.

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion during approach, inadequate preflight planning/preparation by the certified flight instruction (CFI), and the unsuitable terrain encountered by the CFI during the forced landing. An additional cause was the improper training of the CFI by the company. Contributing factors were the lack of familiarity with the airplane by the CFI and the night light conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was operated from the destination airport by a company providing airplane instructional and rental services. The airplane was piloted by a certified flight instructor (CFI) with a student pilot, who were returning with other company airplanes and instructors from a cross country flight to a casino. The airplane was on a night visual approach to the destination airport when the CFI executed a forced landing on a small dark area in a residential area following a total loss of engine power. The CFI reported to local law enforcement that the airplane ran out of gas. The CFI stated that he did not lean the mixture for the flight. Examination of the airplane revealed no usable fuel aboard, and the mixture control was in the full rich position. The student pilot stated that during the return flight the power setting was at a full setting at an altitude of 3,500 feet mean sea level. The CFI stated that he began his employment with the operator about one month prior to the accident following a company checkout in a different make and model. The CFI provided flight instruction in the accident airplane make and model upon his hire to student pilots without receiving company training and a checkout in the accident airplane make and model airplane. The CFI received a company checkout in an airplane make and model other than the accident airplane. The CFI stated that which he paid the costs associated with his company training which included airplane rental and company instructors. Following the accident, the CFI did not know under what conditions the airplane's fuel gauges would be accurate and did not know the accident airplane's maximum glide speed. The CFI did not know how to calculate a safe flight time or to make use of a dipstick to accurately determine fuel level as cited in an Federal Aviation Administration Accident Prevention Publication. The airplane engine was 613.7 hours past the engine manufacture's recommend time for a major engine overhaul of 1,800 hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.