Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lucerne Valley, California 92307
Wednesday, May 12, 1999 14:20 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The private pilot rented the airplane for a personal cross-country flight. At his first stop he did not refuel. He overflew his intended second and refueling stop by 23 miles. Subsequently, he ran out of fuel and attempted a landing on a dirt road. The airplane collided with brush and rolled inverted. The airplane had operated 4.4 hours since last refueling. The pilot had received a 1.1-hour checkout by the operator the day before the accident in the same airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane and improper fuel consumption calculations.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/12/1999
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1420
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City LUCERNE VALLEY
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 92307
Event Date Year 1999
Event Date Month 5
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1353 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 20
Weather Observation Facility ID DAG
Elevation of weather observation facility 1927
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 37
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
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) 35
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 35
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 260
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 14
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 Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1257
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 12 1999 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1547
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 10:04AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N66487
NTSB Number LAX99LA183
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 150M
Aircraft Series Identifier 150M
Aircraft Serial Number 15076079
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 23 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 45
Airframe Hours 3924
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name KERN CHARTER SERVICE
Aircraft Owner Street Address 410 E. PLANZ RD.
Aircraft Owner City BAKERSFIELD
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 93307
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 L45
Departure City BAKERSFIELD
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 1300
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code L39
Destination City RAMONA
Destination State CA
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 10 2001 12:27PM
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 --