- Date
- October 22, 1990, 23:56 local (Oct 23, 1990, 03:56 UTC)
- Place
- Lexington, KY
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N18539Cessna 150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 23, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19901022060059A
- Case key
- 11638
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 pilot's inadequate inflight decision causing fuel exhaustion.
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
The acft was being ferried to the new owner when the accident occurred on the third leg of a flight from hartford, CT to dallas, TX. The plt reported that the fuel tanks were full when he took off at 2020 EDT. He proceeded en route at 4000 ft MSL at a groundspeed of about 96 KTS. The plt stated the fuel mixture was leaned for the flight. About 35 miles from the destination he noticed one fuel quantity gage indicated near empty, and the second gage indicated less than half-full. About 10 miles out both gages indicated near empty. Soon afterwards the engine lost power, but he restarted the engine. However the engine lost power again and he made a forced landing in a field about a mile NE of lex. About 4 ozs of fuel was drained from the fuel system during the post- accident examination. Fuel consumption calculations indicate about 5 gals of fuel should have remained when the power lost occurred.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18539
- Reported as
- Cessna 150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15073927
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 1 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- Dalton L. Peck
- Registered owner
- Unknown
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- AFJ · Washington, PA
- Destination
- LEX
- Airport
- LEX · Lexington-Bluegrass
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
- 24
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,994 total · 200 in this make and model · 1,742 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 20° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LEX, 1 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.
Other investigations on N18539 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.