# Accident 19990324037119A: Cessna 150F, Columbia, SC, March 24, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 24, 1999, 18:44 local time - Place: Columbia, SC - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Forced Landing - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.0007° N, 81.0348° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Columbia, SC, within about 7 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.0007&lon=-81.0348&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8397G, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8397G-2013-05-14) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 150F (registry code 2071814, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150f) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150F - Reported engine: CONT O200A - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 323 total, 235 in this make and model, 66 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA99LA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA112) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990324037119A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON MARCH 24, 1999, ABOUT 1844 EASTERN STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 150F, N8397G, REGISTERED TO A PRIVATE OWNER, OPERATING AS A 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT, EXPERIENCED A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER ON FINAL APPROACH AND MADE A FORCED LANDING TO AN INTERSTATE HIGHWAY. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE PILOT REPORTED NO INJURIES. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM ENTERPRISE, ALABAMA, ABOUT 3 HOURS 6 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. THE PILOT STATED HE DEPARTED ENTERPRISE AT ABOUT 1440 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME. HE CLIMBED TO 3,500 FEET AND WAS VECTORED AROUND RESTRICTED AREAS ALONG HIS ROUTE OF FLIGHT. HE CLIMBED TO 5,500 FEET AND CRUISED AT 75 PERCENT POWER. UPON REACHING MACON, GEORGIA, HE DESCENDED TO 3,500 FEET, AND DESCENDED TO 2,000 FEET WHEN HE WAS INSTRUCTED TO CONTACT COLUMBIA TOWER. HE WAS BEING SEQUENCED FOR LANDING ON RUNWAY 29. ABOUT 2 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT THE AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. HE WAS PROVIDED WINDS, ALTIMETER, AND RUNWAY INFORMATION. HE INFORMED THE TOWER THAT HE WOULD BE UNABLE TO MAKE THE AIRPORT. A SHALLOW TURN WAS MADE TO THE RIGHT AND A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE TO THE SHOULDER OF THE INTERSTATE. THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLIDED WITH A STEEL GRATE AND SEPARATED THE LANDING GEAR. THE AIRPLANE ROTATED AROUND THE LATERAL AXIS TO THE RIGHT, COLLAPSED THE NOSE GEAR AND CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP. EXAMINATION OF THE FUEL TANKS BY THE PILOT REVEALED NO FUEL WAS PRESENT. (.4) THE PILOT WAS ABOUT 2 MILES FROM HIS DESTINATION AIRPORT WH EN HE EXPERIENCED A TOTAL LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. THE PILOT MADE A FORCED LANDING TO A HIGHWAY, LANDED ON THE SHOULDER, AND THE LANDING GEAR COLLIDED WITH A RAIN GRATE. THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR COLLIDED WITH A RAIN GRATE AND SEPARATED. VISUAL EXAMINATION OF THE LEFT FUEL TANK REVEALED IT WAS EMPTY. THE RIGHT FUEL TANK CONTAINED ABOUT 1/2 OUNCE OF FUEL. (-23)N8397G, CE-150F, WAS APPROXIMATELY FOUR MILES FROM THE COLUMBIA METROPOLITAN AIRPORT, SC, AT 2000 FEET WHEN THE PILOT DECLARED TO THE COLUMBIA TOWER THAT THE ENGINE STOPPED RUNNING, WITH THE PROBABLE CAUSE OF FUEL STARVATION. THE PILOT STATED HE WOULD NOT MAKE RUNWAY 29 AT COLUMBIA AND WOULD FORCE LAND ON I-26. THE CE-150F LANDED ON I-26 NARROWLY MISSING POWER LINES OVER THE ROAD ON THE APPROACH AND BOUNCED ON THE LANDING ATTEMPT. ON LANDING, THE LEFT GEAR HIT A CULVERT DRAIN AND WAS RIPPED FROM THE AIRCRAFT. THE RIGHT GEAR WAS BENT FROM THE HARD LANDING. BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT WINGS WERE STUCTURALLY DAMAGED, I.E., THE MAIN SPAR ON BOTH WINGS WERE DAMAGED AND BENT. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB MIA99LA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA99LA112), Mar 24, 1999: Cessna 15OF (N8397G), Columbia, SC, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilots failure to maintain a visual lookout during a forced landing to a highway. This resulted in the left main landing gear colliding with a rain grate separating the left main landing gear.… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.