- Date
- July 15, 1995, 11:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Russellville, AL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8085FCessna 150F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950715018729A
- Case key
- 3596
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The student pilot's failure to properly plan enough fuel for the solo cross country flight. A factor was the terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
While conducting a solo cross country flight, the student pilot became disoriented. He established radio contact with flight service, and reported that he had less than one fourth of a tank of fuel. Four minutes after establishing radio contact, the student pilot reported that the engine had quit. He then selected a field and made a forced landing. The airplane nosed over during the landing roll after it collided with a berm. According to the student pilot's flight log, he flew five hours without an en route refueling stop. The normal fuel endurance for this airplane is approximately four hours.
Factual narrative
On July 15, 1995, at 1145 central daylight time, a Cessna 150F, N8085F, collided with a berm during rollout following a forced landing near Russellville, Alabama. The solo cross country flight operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 with a flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the student pilot was not injured. The flight departed Lafayette, Georgia, at 0745 eastern daylight time.
According to the student pilot, he became disoriented during the solo cross country flight. The pilot requested directional finding assistance from a local airport control tower; during the directional finding process, the airplane ran out of fuel, and the engine quit. The student selected a nearby open field for an emergency landing. During the landing roll, the airplane collided with a berm and nosed over.
According to the student pilot's flight log, he had flown five hours without a planned enroute fuel stop. The Cessna 150 has an approximate fuel endurance of four hours. No mechanical problems were reported with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8085F
- Reported as
- Cessna 150F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15064185
- Airframe hours
- 1,949
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Pigeon Mountain Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 30, 1995
- Departed
- 9A5 · Lafayette, GA
- Destination
- MSL · Muscle Shoals, AL
- Flight plan
- VFR
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 40
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 40 total · 40 in this make and model · 21 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MSL, 18 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.