# Accident 20170920020849A: Cessna 150E, Siler City, NC, September 20, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 20, 2017, 15:30 local time
- Place: Siler City, NC
- Airport: Siler City Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Rotation
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.7042° N, 79.5042° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.7042&lon=-79.5042&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6250T, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6250T) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Cessna 150E (registry code 2071812, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental 0-200 series (registry code 17020, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CESSNA 150E
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 147 total, 7 in this make and model, 9 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA17CA546](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA546) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170920020849A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

AIRCRAFT HAD INTERMITTENT GENERATOR ON A TIME-BUILDING CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT IN VMC CONDITIONS.  GENERATOR AND BATTERY EVENTUALLY DIED AND PILOT WAS UNABLE TO GET A READING ON HIS FUEL GAUGES.  PILOT STOPPED AT SCR (SILER CITY, NC, FORMERLY 5W8) TO TAKE MANUAL READING OF FUEL TANKS.  PILOT PURCHASED FUEL AT SCR, AND WAS UNABLE TO RESTART AIRCRAFT DUE TO DEAD BATTERY.  PILOT GOT A JUMP FROM LOCAL GROUND CREW.  ON TAKEOFF FROM RUNWAY 4, PILOT HEARD A NOISE IN HIS RADIOS AND GOT DISTRACTED.  WHEN HE LOOKED UP, HE WAS OVER THE GRASS NEXT TO THE RUNWAY.  TRYING TO CORRECT HIS CENTERLINE, HE SCRAPED THE LEFT WINGTIP TO THE GRASS/GROUND (WHICH HE STATED HE DID NOT REALIZE OCCURRED).  HE DECIDED TO LAND IN THE GRASS AND COME BACK AROUND THE TAXIWAYS TO TRY AGAIN.  HE THEN DEPARTED RUNWAY 4 (ALL ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT STILL INOPERATIVE), AND TOOK OFF SUCCESSFULLY FROM SCR.  HE THEN WENT TO HBI TO DO A LANDING THERE, THEN ON TO HIS FINAL DESTINATION OF EXX, ALL WITH A DEAD BATTERY AND THEREFORE ALL OF HIS ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT (INCLUDING RADIOS) INOPERATIVE.  DAMAGE REVEALED CRUMPLING OF LEFT WING, AFFECTING STRUCTURE OF THE WING, WHICH CLASSIFIED THIS INVESTIGATION AS AN ACCIDENT.

## 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 GAA17CA546](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA546), Sep 20, 2017: Cessna 150 (N6250T), Siler City, NC, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's improper decision to take off with known electrical issues, which distracted him and led to a loss of directional control during the takeoff roll.

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.