Cessna 150J N60486

Summary

On 4 July 2008 at about 23:00 local time, a Cessna 150J registered N60486, operated by Sky Ads, was involved in an accident near Seal Beach, California, United States. One person was on board and 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

4 July 2008 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Seal Beach, California, United States

Coordinates

33.7944, -118.0528

Aircraft

Cessna 150J

Registration

N60486

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Sky Ads

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Banner Tow

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Compton → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08CA215

1 person had minor injuries.

Fuel starvation due to the pilot's improper fuel management procedures and failure to select a tank containing fuel. Contributing to the accident 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 pilot reported that he was towing a banner along the ocean shoreline at an altitude of 500 feet and an airspeed of 40 mph when the engine lost power. He dropped the banner into the water, but was unsuccessful in attempting to restart the engine. The pilot ditched the airplane in the ocean about 100 feet from shore. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane after it was pulled onto the beach. The inspector reported that the right wing sustained structural damage. Additionally, the inspector noted that the airplane had been modified extensively, and one of the modifications included replacement of the original two position (ON/OFF) fuel selector valve with a four position fuel selector valve (BOTH ON/LEFT/RIGHT/OFF). The fuel selector valve was found in the LEFT tank position. The left tank contained about 1 gallon of fuel, and the right tank was full of fuel. The pilot stated that he was aware the airplane had been extensively modified, but was not aware that the fuel selector valve had been changed. He further stated that he had never touched the fuel selector switch, as he thought it was ON or OFF only. The operator reported that the pilot had received training in the airplane that included use of the four position fuel selector valve.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.