Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

College Place, Washington 99324
Wednesday, September 20, 1995 20:40 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Both the pilot and the pilot-rated passenger reported that they had planned a flight from Walla Walla to Kelso and return. At Kelso, the airplane was fueled with 16.8 gallons. The pilot and passenger thought that only 10 gallons were used. During the return flight, the engine lost power after 2 hours 45 minutes. The pilot-rated passenger made the forced landing. Night conditions prevailed. During descent, the airplane collided with a powerline and trees. The right wing fuel tank was ruptured and no fuel was present. The left wing contained approximately 1-1/4 gallons of fuel. Computations of fuel flow based on the first leg of the flight were applied to the return leg, and the computed fuel consumed would have been about the amount required to sustain engine power for the duration of the flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot-in-command's inaccurate fuel consumption calculations which led to fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/20/1995
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 2040
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City COLLEGE PLACE
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99324
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2050 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 42
Weather Observation Facility ID ALW
Elevation of weather observation facility 1205
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 4
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 16000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1709
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Sep 20 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2245
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:36PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N714NW
NTSB Number SEA95LA222
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model 150M
Aircraft Series Identifier 150M
Aircraft Serial Number 15079313
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 1 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 60
Airframe Hours 5049
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROTH, RICHARD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 638 CLAY ST.
Aircraft Owner City WALLA WALLA
Aircraft Owner State WA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99362
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name MOUNTAIN STATES AVIATION
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address WALLA WALLA REGIONAL AIRPORT
Operator City WALLA WALLA
Operator State WA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 99362
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board Yes
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code KLS
Departure City KELSO
Departure State WA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1750
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code ALW
Destination City WALLA WALLA
Destination State WA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:30AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --