Cessna 150H N7237S

Summary

On 17 February 2011 at about 22:15 local time, a Cessna 150H registered N7237S, operated by William Garst, was involved in an accident near Jonesborough, Tennessee, 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

17 February 2011 at 22:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Jonesborough, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip (NONE)

Coordinates

36.1833, -82.4167

Aircraft

Cessna 150H

Registration

N7237S

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

William Garst

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jonesborough → Jonesborough

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11LA149

Nobody was injured.

A partial loss of engine power during initial climb for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane sat for approximately one month prior to the accident flight with its wing fuel tanks about one-quarter full. Prior to the accident flight, the pilot's preflight inspection included sumping the fuel tanks and he thought he had removed all of the water and rust flake contamination from the fuel tanks. During takeoff, about 40 feet above the ground, the engine began to run rough. The pilot attempted a 180-degree turn back to the airport; however, the airplane impacted a field west of the airport and came to rest inverted. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that fuel sumped from the fuel tanks contained a small amount of rust particles and debris consistent with an airplane being in an accident. No contamination of the fuel was noted in the gascolator and the gascolator screen was clean. The fuel line from the gascolator to the carburetor was clear. The finger screen from the carburetor contained a few rust particles, but not enough to affect fuel flow. The carburetor contained a small amount of fuel in the bowl, with no contamination noted. No other anomalies were observed that would have precluded the engine from developing full power. Additionally, the weather conditions at the time of the accident were not conducive to carburetor ice at takeoff power settings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.