Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sedalia, Missouri 65301
Sunday, November 18, 2001 15:10 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that approximately four miles from the airport the engine "slowed and then stopped." The pilot reported that he established best glide speed and made a forced landing to an agricultural field. The pilot stated that the agricultural field was "freshly plowed and muddy." A post-accident inspection of the airplane revealed there was no usable fuel remaining in either of the wing fuel tanks. The fuel tanks were not ruptured. The accident airplane had been fueled with 24.7 gallons of fuel 30 minutes prior to the accident flight. The useable fuel for the Cessna 150 is 24.5 gallons. The fuel endurance for a Cessna 152 at maximum cruise power at 2,000 feet above mean sea level is 3.25 hours. The accident occurred 4 hours and 10 minutes after departure.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate in-flight planning/decision which led to fuel exhaustion and subsequent loss of engine power. Contributing to the accident was the soft, rough/uneven terrain.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/18/2001
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1510
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Sedalia
Event State MISSOURI
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 65301
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 11
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 1511 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID DMO
Elevation of weather observation facility 909
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 2
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 4300
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 4
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 14
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 180
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.05
Density Altitude (feet) 865
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KDMO 182111Z AUTO 18009KT 4SM VCTS RA BR FEW007 BK
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13296
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 18 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1853
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2003 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office FAA, Kansas City FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N48285
NTSB Number CHI02LA041
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Cessna
Aircraft Model 152
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15283319
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 31 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 41
Airframe Hours 4557
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Timothy R. Reeder - Trustee
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1009 Red Wing Drive
Aircraft Owner City Marshall
Aircraft Owner State MO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 65340
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 HUF
Departure City Terre Haute
Departure State IN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1100
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code DMO
Destination City Sedalia
Destination State MO
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Mar 28 2003 9:33AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --