Cessna 150L N5321Q

Summary

On 6 December 2024 at about 19:35 local time, a Cessna 150L registered N5321Q was involved in an accident near Meridian, Mississippi, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, 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

6 December 2024 at 19:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Meridian, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Key Field Airport (MEI)

Coordinates

32.3012, -88.7553

Aircraft

Cessna 150L

Registration

N5321Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1972

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Meridian → Meridian

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA057

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the flight instructor’s inadequate verification of his student’s preflight planning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and flight instructor were conducting an instructional cross-country flight when the airplane lost all engine power. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings and fuselage during the forced landing into trees. Both wing fuel tanks remained intact, and no fuel was drained from either low point when sumped. The center fuselage drain point and firewall-mounted fuel strainers were actuated and produced about 1 tablespoon of fuel each. There were no observable indications of fuel leaking or fuel blight on nearby vegetation. The pilot reported that before the flight he fueled the airplane and estimated he had about 5 ½ hours of flight time. He stated that when planning for the cross-country flight he did not complete a detailed fuel burn calculation and that he did not use the pilot’s operating handbook to calculate fuel burn for the intended cruising altitude. The flight instructor stated that the pilot did not present a cross-country flight plan to him before the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.