Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Sarasota, Florida 34239
Wednesday, January 9, 2008 19:44 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During a cross country flight the pilot of a Cessna 150G executed a forced landing after a complete loss of engine power. During the landing the airplane nosed over substantially damaging the firewall and vertical stabilizer. According to the pilot, after leaving his departure airport, he stopped at two other airports prior to proceeding to his final destination. Once he arrived at his destination airport, he was unable to turn on the runway lights and began to orbit the airport. Approximately 10 minutes later, the engine began to "roll back" and lost all power. The pilot estimated that he had operated the airplane for 3.2 hours prior to the loss of power and that all of the flights had been operated at 3,000 feet. He stated that the fuel burn had been 4.2 gallons an hour in accordance with the pilot's operating handbook (POH). A review of the Cessna 150G POH revealed that 3.24 gallons was required for the three, engine start, taxi, and takeoff sequences. A review of the airplane's engine hour meter and maintenance records revealed that the airplane had been operated for 4.6 hours. Fuel burn calculations derived from information in the POH, the pilot's stated fuel burn, and hour meter information revealed that a total of 22.52 gallons of gasoline would have been consumed. According to the POH, total usable fuel was 22.5 gallons. A postaccident examination by an airframe and powerplant mechanic revealed no evidence of fuel in either the fuel lines or fuel tanks.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper preflight and in-flight planning which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/9/2008
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1944
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Sarasota
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 34239
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 271535N
Event Location Longitude 0821715W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1953 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID SRQ
Elevation of weather observation facility 30
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 17
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
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) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.11
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 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 23119
NTSB Notification Source FAA SROC
NTSB Notification Date Jan 9 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 28 2008 3:59PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Orlando, FL

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2490J
NTSB Number NYC08CA079
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 150G
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 15065590
Certified Max Gross Weight 1600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 Nov 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 4.6
Airframe Hours 1651.5
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Granville Group
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Palmetto
Aircraft Owner State FL
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 34221
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Bill Burton
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Palmetto
Operator State FL
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 34221
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code X58
Departure City Indiantown
Departure State FL
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1820
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 22FA
Destination City Sarasota
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Feb 19 2008 9:19AM
User who most recently changed record MUZD
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location NA
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --