Spencer Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Paxton, Massachusetts 01612
Sunday, July 4, 2004 20:49 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the preflight inspection of the airplane, the pilot, through the use of a stick-type fuel gage, determined that the right fuel tank contained 7 gallons of fuel, and that the left fuel tank was full. While he had flown the route in the past, on the accident flight, he climbed the airplane to 8,500 feet, which he had never done before, and subsequently descended incrementally until in the vicinity of the destination airport. During the final descent, and after 2 hours 44 minutes of flight, the engine stopped and could not be restarted. Due to the terrain, the pilot performed a forced landing into trees. Based on previous flights, he had planned that the engine to consume an average of 6 gallons of fuel per hour, and for the total flight time to be 2 hours 40 minutes. The fuel gauge, which the pilot used to determine the amount of fuel onboard prior to takeoff, was calibrated for a different model airplane that had the same size fuel tank, but a greater amount of useable fuel than the accident airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and a subsequent forced landing. Factors included the pilot's use of a fuel gauge that was calibrated for a different model airplane, and a lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/4/2004
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 2049
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Paxton
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 01612
Event Date Year 2004
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 421726N
Event Location Longitude 0715700W
Event Location Airport Spencer Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 60M
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.75
Degrees magnetic from airport 10
Airport Elevation 1040
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2054 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 90
Weather Observation Facility ID ORH
Elevation of weather observation facility 1009
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 22
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 14
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 17570
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jul 5 2004 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1032
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Apr 28 2005 2:59PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\JOHB
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Windsor Locks

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5058R
NTSB Number IAD04LA028
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 150
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15066082
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 May 26 2004 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 10
Airframe Hours 5979
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Michael Scofield
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Spencer
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 01562
Operator is an individual? Yes
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 3B1
Departure City Greenville
Departure State ME
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1805
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 60M
Destination City Spencer
Destination State MA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Descent
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record --
User who most recently changed record --
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --