# Accident 19990930029029A: Cessna 150F, Poteau, OK, September 30, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 30, 1999, 22:40 local time - Place: Poteau, OK - Airport: Roberts S Kerr Airport - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Level Off Touchdown - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 35.0392° N, 94.6305° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.0392&lon=-94.6305&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8092S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8092S-2002-06-12) (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: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 1,178 total, 744 in this make and model, 75 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW99LA272](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA272) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990930029029A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 30, 1999, AT 2240 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, A CESSNA 150F AIRPLANE, N8092S, WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED WHEN IT IMPACTED TERRAIN WHILE LANDING AT THE ROBERT S. KERR AIRPORT (RKR) NEAR POTEAU, OKLAHOMA. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES, AND THE STUDENT PILOT, WHO WAS THE OWNER OF THE AIRPLANE, WAS FATALLY INJURED. DARK NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 INSTRUCTIONAL FLIGHT. THE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM RKR AT 1955. THE THREE LEG CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT WAS PLANNED FROM RKR TO MCALESTER, OKLAHOMA (MLC), TO HENRYETTA, OKLAHOMA (F10), THEN RETURNING TO RKR. DURING A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW CONDUCTED BY THE NTSB INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE, THE INSTRUCTOR PILOT STATED THAT WHILE EN-ROUTE, JUST OUTSIDE OF MLC, THE GENERATOR LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE INSTRUCTOR STATED THAT THE STUDENT BELIEVED THAT THE LIGHT WAS A FALSE INDICATION SO THEY ELECTED TO CONTINUE WITH THE FLIGHT. THE INSTRUCTOR ADDED THAT THEY COULD NOT ACTIVATE THE PILOT CONTROLLED LIGHTING AT F10 UNTIL THEY WERE WITHIN ONE MILE OF THE AIRPORT, BUT "THEY DID NOT THINK MUCH OF IT AT THE TIME. " THEY PERFORMED A TOUCH AND GO LANDING AT F10 AND ELECTED TO RETURN TO RETURN TO RKR, EVEN THOUGH THE GENERATOR LIGHT WAS STILL ILLUMINATED. ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTOR, THE AIRPLANE LOST ELECTRICAL POWER BEFORE THE FLIGHT REACHED RKR, AND HE WQAS UNABLE TO ACTIVATE THE PILOT CONTROLLED LIGHTING USING THE AIRCRAFT RADIO. THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR ATTEMPTED A LANDING ON RUNWAY 36 WITHOUT AIRCRAFT LIGHTING AND RUNWAY LIGHTING. ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTOR, THE AIRPLANE TOUCHED DOWN IN A ROUGH AREA, BOUNCED 3 OR 4 TIMES, AND IMPACTED A DITCH IN A NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE. THE FAA INSPECTOR, WHO VISITED THE ACCIDENT SITE, STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 300 FEET EAST OF THE RUNWAY CENTERLINE. THE AIRPLANE'S FORWARD FUSELAGE WAS STRUCTURALLY DAMAGED, AND THE NOSE AND MAIN LANDING GEAR WERE COLLAPSED. (-23) PILOT ATTEMPTED TO LAND AT NIGHT WITH NO AIRFIELD RUNWAY LIGHTS. THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN APPROXIMATELY 360 FEET EAST AND 1800 FEET NORTH OF THE THRESHOLD OF RUNWAY 18. THE AIRCRAFT ROLLED AND BOUNCED 363 FEET AND CAME TO A REST, NOSE DOWN, IN A DRAINAGE RAVINE APPROXIMATELY 35 FEET WIDE AND 25 FEET DEEP. (.4)THE STUDENT PILOT PLANNED THE NIGHT CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT; HOWEVER, THE FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR PERFORMED THE FUEL CALCULATIONS BY USING A 4-HOUR FUEL ENDURANCE MINUS THE STUDENT'S FLIGHT TIME TO THE ORIGINATION AIRPORT. THE INSTRUCTOR DETERMINED THAT THERE WAS ENOUGH FUEL FOR THE FLIGHT AND ELECTED NOT TO HAVE THE FUEL TANKS FILLED PRIOR TO THE FLIGHT. DURING THE FIRST LEG OF THE FLIGHT, THE GENERATOR WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE STUDENT INDICATED TO THE INSTRUCTOR THAT HE THOUGHT IT WAS AN INDICATION PROBLEM AND NOT A GENERATOR PROBLEM. THE INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT ELECTED TO CONTINUE THE FLIGHT, PERFORMING TOUCH-AND-GO LANDINGS AT TWO SEPARATE AIRPORTS. ON THE THIRD/LAST LEG OF THE FLIGHT, AFTER THE INSTRUCTOR NOTICED THE FUEL GAUGES READING EMPTY IN ONE FUEL TANK AND 1/4 FULL IN THE OTHER, THE STUDENT INFORMED THE INSTRUCTOR THAT HIS AIRPLANE ONLY HAD A 3.5-HOUR FUEL ENDURANCE. DURING THE LAST LEG OF THE FLIGHT, THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM FAILED. DUE TO THE LOW FUEL STATUS, THE INSTRUCTOR DID NOT DIVERT TO AN AIRPORT WITH AUTOMATIC RUNWAY LIGHTING, BUT CONTINUED TO THE ORIGINAL DESTINATION AIRPORT, WHICH HAD A PILOT CONTROLLED RUNWAY LIGHT SYSTEM. THE INSTRUCTOR ATTEMPTED TWO A PPROACHES WITH NO RUNWAY OR AIRCRAFT LIGHTING. ON THE SECOND APPROACH, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND AND A DITCH. A WORK ORDER INCLUDED IN THE MAINTENANCE RECORDS INDICATED THAT THE GENERATOR 'FUSES' WERE 'REPLACED' 2.5 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. EXAMINATION OF THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM REVEALED THAT A 30-AMP FUSE WAS INSTALLED IN THE GENERATOR FUSE HOLDER, AND THE FUSE HAD 'BLOWN'. THE AIRCRAFT'S ELECTRICAL SYSTEM REQUIRED A 35-AMP GENERATOR FUSE. ## 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 FTW99LA272](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA272), Oct 1, 1999: Cessna 150F (N8092S), Poteau, OK, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The instructor pilot's inadequate in-flight decision making, which resulted in the continued flight with a disabled generator and subsequent total failure of the electrical system. Factors were the… 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.