Cessna 150M N6266K

Summary

On 18 November 2023 at about 23:22 local time, a Cessna 150M registered N6266K, operated by Aero Maintenance Inc, was involved in an accident near Woodland, Washington, United States. 2 people were 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

18 November 2023 at 23:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Woodland, Washington, United States

Nearest airport

Woodland State (W27)

Coordinates

45.9040, -122.7663

Aircraft

Cessna 150M

Registration

N6266K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Aero Maintenance Inc

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Vancouver → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24LA039

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor’s inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a total loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot used a fuel dipstick ruler to measure the quantity of fuel in each wing tank and reported 13 and 9 gallons, respectively, during the preflight. Shortly after, the student and the flight instructor departed the local airport to practice steep turns and slow-flight maneuvers, including an introduction to power-off stalls and recovery. About an hour into the flight, during a stall maneuver recovery (with carburetor heat on), the instructor increased the throttle setting but the engine remained at idle. As the power remained unchanged, the instructor decided to execute an off-airport landing to a nearby field. Shortly after touchdown, the landing gear separated and the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the aft fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any mechanical anomalies. Flight control and valvetrain continuity were established. No fuel was recovered at the accident site. The fuel system was traced from each wing tank to the carburetor at the engine through the fuel selector, which rotated normally and was unobstructed. The fuel filter bowl remained secured to its mount and had about 2 oz of fuel consistent with 100LL avgas. Although weather conditions were conducive to serious carburetor icing at cruise power, the flight instructor reported that carburetor heat was applied during the stall maneuvers. The operator reported that the airplane was not refueled after the previous flight or before the accident flight. Based on the engine time that accrued since the last fueling, and the minimal amount of fuel found in the airplane after the accident, the student pilot’s fuel reading was likely incorrect and did not accurately account for the amount of fuel available for the flight. As a result of the accident, the operator updated their procedures requiring all flight instructors to verify and sign off on the reported fuel level after each student preflight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.