# Accident 19990506020409A: Cessna 150G, Detroit, OR, May 6, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: May 6, 1999, 19:23 local time - Place: Detroit, OR - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Scud Running - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 44.7397° N, 121.8805° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.7397&lon=-121.8805&mi=10 - Aircraft: N3381J, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3381J-2012-09-05) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna 150G (registry code 2071816, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150g) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150G - Fatal injuries: 0 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA99LA058](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA99LA058) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990506020409A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MAY 6, 1999, APPROXIMATELY 1914 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, THE SEATTLE AIR ROUTE TRAFFIC CONTROL CENTER (ARTCC) LOST RADIO CONTACT WITH N3381J, A CESSNA 150G AIRPLANE REGISTERED TO JACK'S AIRCRAFT SERVICES INC. OF LEBANON, OREGON. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT-IN-COMMAND AND SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT (WHICH ACCORDING TO LOCAL SHERIFF'S REPORTS DEPARTED LEBANON STATE AIRPORT APPROXIMATELY 1600 FOR ESTACADA, OREGAN, BUT WAS UNABLE TO LAND AT ESTACADA DUE TO HIGH WINDS AND SUBSEQUENTLY ATTEMPTED TO RETURN TO LEBANON STATE) HAD DECLARED AN EMERGENCY WITH THE SEATTLE ARTCC APPROXIMATELY 1830 USING ANOTHER AIRCRAFT AS A RADIO RELAY, AND CONTACTED THE SEATTLE ARTCC DIRECTLY APPROXIMATELY 1902 REQUESTING ASSISTANCE. THE PILOT STATED TO SEATTLE ARTCC HE HAD BEEN FLYING IN A SNOWSTORM FOR APPROXIMATELY 30 TO 40 MINUTES, DID NOT KNOW WHERE HE WAS, COULD NOT SEE ANYTHING ON THE GROUND, WAS LOW ON FUEL, AND THAT HE THOUGHT THE AIRCRAFT MAY BE ICED UP. SEATTLE ARTCC WAS ATTEMPTING TO GUIDE THE PILOT INTO DAVIS AIRPORT, GATES, OREGON, AT THE TIME CONTACT WITH THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOST. FOLLOWING THE LOSS OF CONTACT WITH THE AIRCRAFT, AN EMERGENCY LOCATOR TRANSMITTER (ELT) SIGNAL WAS RECEIVED AND LOCALI ZED TO AN AREA NEAR THE LAST RADAR POSITION OF THE AIRCRAFT (AT 1910 OVER THE DETROIT LAKE RESERVOIR NEAR DETROIT, OREGON), AND A SEARCH FOR THE AIRCRAFT WAS INITIATED. SEARCH AND RESCUE (SAR) FORCES LOCATED THE PILOT WITH THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE APPROXIMATELY 1230 ON MAY 7, 1999, AND RESCUED THE PILOT. THE ACCIDENT SITE WAS ON A MOUNTAINSIDE AT THE 3,500 FOOT LEVEL APPROXIMATELY 5 MILES SOUTH OF DETROIT. THE PILOT'S INJURIES WERE DESCRIBED BY THE LOCAL SHERIFF AS HYPOTHERMIA, POSSIBLE SPINAL INJURIES, AND NUMEROUS CUTS AND ABRASIONS. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS, WITH LIGHT RAIN, WERE REPORTED FOR SALEM, OREGON (APPROX. 39 NAUTICAL MILES WEST-NORTHWEST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE) AT 1856. NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE 14 CFR 91 FLIGHT. A RECORDING OF SEATTLE ARTCC COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE ACCIDENT AIRCRAFT DISCLOSED THAT SEATTLE ARTCC INITIALLY PLACED THE AIRCRAFT ON A VECTOR OF 250 DEGREES (THE AIRCRAFT WAS OVER THE WESTERN FOOTHILLS OF THE CASCADE MOUNTAIN RANGE, IN THE VICINITY OF 10,497-FOOT MOUNT JEFFERSON, AT THE TIME.) THE PILOT SUBSEQUENTLY COMMUNICATED VIA RADIO THAT HE WAS GETTING INTO "A REALLY BAD ICE STORM", AND WAS TOLD TO MAKE TURNS AS NECESSARY TO AVOID TH E WEATHER. A NATIONAL TRACK ANALYSIS PROGRAM (NTAP) PLOT OF RECORDED AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) RADAR DATA DEPECTED THE AIRCRAFT TURNING LEFT FROM A 250-DEGREE TRACK TO A GENERALLY SOUTHERLY TRACK IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO LOSS OF RADAR CONTACT. THE LAST RECORDED RADAR POSITION OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS AT 1910:35, AT AN ALTITUDE OF 6,000 FEET. SHORTLY BEFORE THE LOSS OF RADIO CONTACT, A SEATTLE ARTCC CONTROLLER ASKED THE PILOT IF THE AIRCRAFT'S CARBURETOR HEAT WAS ON. THE PILOT REPLIED THAT IT WAS NOT. THE CONTROLLER THEN INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO TURN ON THE CARBURETOR HEAT, AND THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED. THE CONTROLLER THEN ASKED IF THE PILOT NOTED AN RPM DROP WHEN HE TURNED ON CARBURETOR HEAT, AND THE PILOT REPLIED AFFIRMATIVELY. THE CONTROLLER THEN INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO TURN CARBURETOR HEAT BACK OFF. A FEW SECONDS LATER, THE PILOT TOLD SEATTLE ARTCC THAT THE ENGINE WOULD NOT RUN WITHOUT CARBURETOR HEAT. THE SEATTLE ARTCC CONTROLLER THEN INSTRUCTED THE PILOT TO TURN CARBURETOR HEAT BACK ON. THE PILOT THEN TOLD SEATTLE ARTCC THAT HE THOUGHT HE WAS OUT OF FUEL. IN HIS LAST RADIO CALL TO SEATTLE ARTCC, ABOUT 1913:40, THE PILOT REPORTED HE WAS AT A SPEED OF 70 KNOTS, AN ALTITUDE OF 4,5 00 FEET, AND WAS DESCENDING AT A RATE OF 1,000 FEET PER MINUTE. REVIEW OF METAR HOURLY OBSERVATIONS AT SALEM AND AT PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, PORTLAND, OREGON (20 NAUTICAL MILES NORTHWEST OF ESTACADA), FOR THE TIME FRAME OF THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT DISCLOSED THAT A WIND SHIFT OCCURRED AT PORTLAND AT 1651. A 1706 PORTLAND SPECIAL OBSERVATION REPORTED WINDS FROM 270 DEGREES AT 19 KNOTS, GUSTING TO 29 KNOTS (PEAK WIND FROM 260 DEGREES AT 29 KNOTS AT 1702), VISIBILITY 4 STATUTE MILES IN RAIN AND MIST, SCATTERED CLOUDS AT 1,800 FEET, CEILING 3,000 FEET BROKEN, OVERCAST AT 5,500 FEET, TEMPERATURE 12 DEGREES C, AND DEWPOINT 11 DEGREES C. (NOTE: ESTACADA HAS ONE NORTH-SOUTH RUNWAY, 3,780 FEET LONG AND 32 FEET WIDE.) FROM 1556 TO 1756, REPORTED WINDS AT PORTLAND SHIFTED FROM SOUTHWESTERLY TO WESTERLY, TEMPERATURE DROPPED FROM 16 DEGREES C TO 10 DEGREES C, AND ALTIMETER SETTING ROSE FROM 29.94 INCHES HG TO 30.05 INCHES HG. THE SALEM 1856 METAR OBSERVATION REPORTED WINDS FROM 200 DEGREES AT 8 KNOTS, VISIBILITY 10 STATUTE MILES IN LIGHT RAIN, BROKEN CEILING AT 3,900 FEET, BROKEN CLOUDS AT 4,600 FEET, OVERCAST AT 9,500 FEET, TEMPERATURE 8 DEGREES C, AND DEWPOINT 5 DEGREES C, WITH A REMAR K THAT RAIN ENDED AT SALEM AT 1757 AND BEGAN AT 1854. THE 1956 SALEM METAR OBSERVATION REPORTED WINDS FROM 180 DEGREES AT 9 KNOTS, VISIBILITY 6 STATUTE MILES IN LIGHT RAIN AND MIST, BROKEN CEILING AT 3,000 FEET, BROKEN CLOUDS AT 4,200 FEET, OVERCAST AT 5,000 FEET, TEMPERATURE 7 DEGREES C, AND DEWPOINT 4 DEGREES C, WITH A REMARK INDICATING CUMULONIMBUS DISTANT EAST TO SOUTHEAST. THE FAA'S PRELIMINARY ACCIDENT REPORT INDICATED THAT THE PILOT HAD NOT RECEIVED A PREFLIGHT WEATHER BRIEFING FROM THE FAA, AND ITS AIRMAN REGISTRY INDICATED THAT THE PILOT DID NOT HOLD AN INSTRUMENT RATING. (-23)N3381J, VFR PILOT IN IMC CONDITIONS, AIRCRAFT WAS ICING AND LOSING ALTITUDE. SEATTLE ARTCC CONTROLLER LOST RADIO AND RADAR WITH THE AIRCRAFT AT 0014PDT. WHILE ATTEMPTING TO WORK IT OUT OF HIGH TERRAIN, AIRCRAFT RAN OUT OF FUEL. ## 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 SEA99LA058](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA99LA058), May 7, 1999: Cessna 150G (N3381J), Detroit, OR, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions, eventually resulting in a non-mechanical loss of engine power. Factors were: the pilot's inadequate… 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.