Cessna 150M N45679

Summary

On 12 August 2005 at about 18:13 local time, a Cessna 150M registered N45679 was involved in an accident near Wht Sulfur Sprg, New York, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 August 2005 at 18:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Wht Sulfur Sprg, New York, United States

Nearest airport

Sullivan County Intl (MSV)

Coordinates

41.8022, -74.8342

Aircraft

Cessna 150M

Registration

N45679

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Honesdale → Monticello

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

IAD05FA121

1 person died.

The pilot's inadequate visual lookout during a precautionary landing, which resulted in collision with a wire and terrain. Factors in the accident were the pilot's inadequate in-flight planning which resulted in his becoming lost/disoriented, and a low fuel state.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot departed his home airport on a personal flight with an unknown quantity of fuel. He landed and shut down the engine at another airport, did not purchase any fuel, then departed for the return flight. Hours later, witnesses observed the airplane circling about 8 miles from his home airport. The airplane then maneuvered for landing in a park. When asked about the sound of the airplane's engine, one witness stated, "The engine was running fine, it was running steady." He estimated that the power setting was about "mid-range." A second witness was one-quarter mile to the west of the crash site when he noticed the airplane circle overhead. The airplane then descended, and passed over his head "at treetop level" as it flew toward the park in a wings-level attitude. When asked about the sound of the engine, the witness stated, "He was coming in slowly, and the engine was running smoothly, but we knew he was coming in for an emergency landing." On short final approach, the airplane struck a wire, descended sharply, struck the ground, and nosed over. Examination of the wreckage revealed no mechanical anomalies. Fuel drained from the tanks totaled 4.7 gallons, 3.5 gallons of which were not usable. Examination of the pilot's records revealed that he had been a student pilot for 11 years, with several multi-year breaks in his training, and that he had accumulated 190 total hours of flight experience.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.