Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Taft, Texas 78390
Friday, June 12, 1998 20:20 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane impacted a power line and a tree during a forced landing following a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. The 72-hour private pilot did not verify the amount of fuel on board the airplane during the pre-flight inspection. When the engine lost power, the pilot initiated a forced landing to a road. However, he misjudged the landing, and the airplane contacted a power line and a tree short of the intended landing site. The airplane then impacted the ground, slid approximately 15 feet, and came to rest upright in the driveway of a residence. Approximately 1 quart of fuel was drained from the airplane's fuel system following the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to ensure that there was adequate fuel for the planned flight on board the airplane during the preflight inspection which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A factor was the pilot's misjudgment of the glide distance during the forced landing which resulted in the airplane impacting objects short of the intended landing site.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/12/1998
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 2020
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City TAFT
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78390
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 6
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 Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
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) 748
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jun 14 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 948
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Feb 16 2001 11:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N10519
NTSB Number FTW98LA268
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 150L
Aircraft Series Identifier 150L
Aircraft Serial Number 15074901
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection 80
Airframe Hours 4873
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PRANEE WHITLOCK
Aircraft Owner Street Address 3118 CREST VAIL
Aircraft Owner City CORPUS CHRISTI
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78415
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
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 No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code CRP
Departure City CORPUS CHRISTI
Departure State TX
Departure Country
Departure Time 1900
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 20 2001 6:29PM
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 --