- Date
- January 12, 1996, 23:33 local (Jan 13, 1996, 04:33 UTC)
- Place
- Sun City, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N18181Cessna 150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 11, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960112001399A
- Case key
- 3685
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. Darkness was a related factor.
Analysis
According to the pilot, about three hours into the flight, he experienced a complete loss of engine power. He selected a nearby state highway and attempted an emergency landing. During the landing roll, the airplane collided with a utility pole. During an examination of the airplane, no fuel was recovered from the left fuel tank, and approximately one gallon of fuel was recovered from the right tank. The engine performed properly during an operational check.
Factual narrative
On January 12, 1996, at 2333 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150L, N18181, collided with a utility pole while attempting an emergency landing on a state highway near Sun City, Florida. The personal flight operated under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the private pilot was not injured. The flight departed Tampa, Florida, at 2030.
According to the pilot, about three hours into the flight, he experienced a complete loss of engine power. He selected a nearby state highway and attempted an emergency landing. During the landing roll, the left wing collided with a guywire to a utility pole, tearing off part of the left wing.
During an examination of the airplane, no fuel was recovered from the left fuel tank, and approximately one gallon of fuel was recovered from the right tank. The engine was examined and operated, and it performed properly. The pilot provided a statement. He did not indicate if the fuel tanks were filled to capacity.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18181
- Reported as
- Cessna 150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 150-73848
- Airframe hours
- 7,966
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Leading Edge Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · November 29, 1995 · 80 hours before
- Departed
- FXE · Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Destination
- X16 · Tampa, FL
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 25
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 120 total · 12 in this make and model · 41 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 340° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- TPA, 20 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.