Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chapin, Illinois 62628
Thursday, August 17, 2000 11:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said that he 'Did engine run up and took off to the west. As soon as I started to climb the engine lost power. I [the pilot] put the nose down and the engine pickup power. As I started to nose up the engine lost power again.' The pilot subsequently attempted a forced landing and struck an embankment. The pilot's student pilot certificate and medical certificate had expired. The pilot listed no mechanical failure and described the failure as 'fuel starvation'. The pilot listed the fuel on board at takeoff as 3.0 gallons. The Cessna 150M owner's manual lists the total fuel capacity as 26.0 gallons, the usable fuel in all flight conditions as 22.5 gallons, and the unusable fuel as 3.5 gallons. A postaccident examination of the aircraft found that the right fuel tank had a trace of fuel, the left fuel tank had about 1/4 inch of fuel, and the firewall fuel filter was empty. No other anomalies were found that could be associated with a preexisting condition.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to refuel the aircraft prior to the flight and exhaustion of the fuel supply. A factor to the accident was the embankment.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/17/2000
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1100
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City CHAPIN
Event State ILLINOIS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 62628
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 8
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 1154 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 80
Weather Observation Facility ID SPI
Elevation of weather observation facility 597
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 32
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
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) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
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) 521
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 18 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1100
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2001 4:05AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N304JF
NTSB Number CHI00LA260
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 15078655
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 --
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 --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name JEFF L. GAIN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1333 REINING RD
Aircraft Owner City CHAPIN
Aircraft Owner State IL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 62628
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code 30LL
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code IJX
Destination City JACKSONVILLE
Destination State IL
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Apr 27 2001 4:05AM
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 --