# Accident 20000129009499A: Cessna 150F, Windson, CA, January 29, 2000 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 29, 2000, 12:57 local time - Place: Windson, CA - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Missed Approach IFR - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 38.5302° N, 122.8100° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.5302&lon=-122.8100&mi=10 - Aircraft: N8281F, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8281F-2013-08-27) (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: 3 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 324 total, 13 in this make and model, 18 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00LA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA081) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000129009499A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) A/C ENGINE EXPERIENCED FUEL STARVATION, BOTH WING FUEL TANKS WERE FOUND EMPTY BY THE SHERIFF'S PILOT^PRIVACY DATA ^AT THE CRASH SITE. (.4)ON JANUARY 29, 2000, AT 1257 HOURS PACIFIC STANDARD TIME, A CESSNA 150F, N8281F, LOST ENGINE POWER DURING CRUISE AND MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A VINEYARD AT WINDSOR, CALIFORNIA. THE AIRPLANE, OPERATED BY THE OWNER UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND TWO PASSENGERS WERE NOT INJURED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS EXISTED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM THE WILLOW-GLENN COUNTY AIRPORT, WILLOWS, CALIFORNIA, AT AN UNDETERMINED TIME, AND WAS SCHEDULED TO TERMINATE AT THE SONOMA COUNTY AIRPORT, SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA. ACCORDING TO THE RESPONDING DEPUTY FROM THE SONOMA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, THE PILOT HAD INFORMED HIM THAT HE HAD FLOWN FROM SANTA ROSA TO WILLOWS THE DAY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. HE HAD BEEN RETURNING TO SANTA ROSA ON THE MORNING OF THE ACCIDENT. HE STATED THAT HE HAD RUN OUT OF FUEL. THE SHERIFF'S DEPUTY VISUALLY VERIFIED THAT NO FUEL WAS FOUND IN THE FUEL TANKS. ACCORDING TO A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (F AA) INSPECTOR, THE PILOT DID NOT INDICATE THAT HE HAD REFUELED THE AIRPLANE. HE VISUALLY CHECKED THE FUEL TANKS, BUT DID NOT VERIFY HOW MUCH FUEL WAS ON BOARD. HE STATED THAT "THERE SEEMED TO BE FUEL, BUT THE TANKS WERE NOT FULL." THE FAA INSPECTOR REQUESTED THAT THE PILOT PERFORM A WEIGHT AND BALANCE FOR THE FLIGHT AND THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO MAKE THE COMPUTATIONS. THE PILOT WAS ALSO UNABLE TO TELL THE FAA WHAT THE GROSS WEIGHT OF THE AIRPLANE WAS AT THE TIME OF DEPARTURE, AND THAT HE BELIEVED IT WOULD BE ALL RIGHT. THE FAA STATED THAT A WEIGHT AND BALANCE WAS COMPUTED AND THE AIRPLANE WAS FOUND TO BE OVER GROSS FOR THE DEPARTURE FLIGHT, WHICH "EXHAUSTED ALL [OF] THE FUEL." MANNY'S SONOMA AVIATION IS THE COMPANY THAT FUELS AIRPLANES AT THE SONOMA COUNTY AIRPORT. THEIR RECORDS INDICATED THAT FROM JANUARY 27 TO FEBRUARY 10, 2000, THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE HAD NOT PURCHASED FUEL FROM THEM. WILLOW-GLENN COUNTY AIRPORT IS APPROXIMATELY 76 SM FROM THE DESTINATION AIRPORT. THERE WAS NO RECORD OF THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE BEING REFUELED THERE THE DAY PRIOR, OR THE DAY OF, THE ACCIDENT. DURING THE RECOVERY, PERSONNEL RETRIEVED APPROXIMATELY 1 GALLON OF FUEL FROM THE AIRPLANE. AN ENGINE RUN AND IN SPECTION WAS CONDUCTED AT PLAIN PARTS IN SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, ON FEBRUARY 10, 2000. PRIOR TO THE ENGINE RUN, THE CARBURETOR BOWL WAS DRAINED VIA THE CARBURETOR PLUG. THE LIQUID DRAINED FROM THE CARBURETOR BOWL WAS BLUE IN COLOR AND SMELLED LIKE 100LL AVIATION FUEL. THE SPARK PLUGS WERE INSPECTED, AND ACCORDING TO THE CHAMPION SPARK PLUGS CHECK-A-PLUG CHART AV-27, EXHIBITED DEPOSITS CONSISTENT WITH LEAD FOULED OPERATION. THE ENGINE RUN WAS CONDUCTED AT 1,800 RPM WITH NO DISCREPANCIES NOTED. A MAGNETO CHECK WAS CONDUCTED AND FOUND TO BE WITHIN MANUFACTURER'S LIMITATIONS. A CARBURETOR HEAT OPERATIONAL CHECK COULD NOT BE CONDUCTED BECAUSE THE ACTUATING CABLE WAS BROKEN INTERNALLY. NO FURTHER DISCREPANCIES WERE NOTED. ACCORDING TO THE EQUIPMENT LIST FOR THE AIRPLANE, A CHILD'S SEAT WAS INSTALLED AT THE FACTORY. ## 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 LAX00LA081](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00LA081), Jan 29, 2000: Cessna 150F (N8281F), Windsor, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight planning in that he did not perform a fuel calculation, and his failure to verify the fuel quantity on board the airplane, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and… 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.