Cessna 150 N45069

Summary

On 4 January 2020 at about 04:00 local time, a Cessna 150 registered N45069 was involved in an accident near Twentynine Palms, California, 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

4 January 2020 at 04:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Twentynine Palms, California, United States

Nearest airport

Twentynine Palms (TNP)

Coordinates

34.1361, -115.9444

Aircraft

Cessna 150

Registration

N45069

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Maricopa → Twentynine Palms

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

WPR20CA060

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's poor preflight planning, during which he failed to verify the proper procedure to activate the runway lights; his inability to locate the airport without lighting; and the airplane’s subsequent low-fuel state as he circled looking for the airport, which necessitated a precautionary off-airport landing, during which the nose landing gear separated.    

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, upon arrival at the airport after dark, he attempted to activate the pilot-controlled lights by keying the mike seven times. Shortly later, he repeated the process twice, but the runway lights did not turn on. He circled the area to try to locate the airport but was unsuccessful. The airplane was now low on fuel, so the pilot began looking for a place to make a precautionary landing. He landed the airplane on a dirt road, and during the landing rollout, the nose landing gear separated, and the left wing was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The Federal Aviation Administration Airport Facility Directory noted that medium-intensity runway lights were available at the airport. To activate the pilot-controlled lighting, the pilot must key the mike five times in 5 seconds. The pilot reported that he did not check what the proper procedures were for operating the pilot-controlled lighting for the runway. Airport personnel checked the pilot-controlled lighting system the day after the accident and reported that there were no malfunctions with the system.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.