- Date
- March 12, 1992, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Lynchburg, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5258QCessna 150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920312006159A
- Case key
- 11767
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 NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The pilot's poor in-flight decision making resulting in fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's overall lack of experience.
Analysis
During a solo cross country flight, originating from norfolk, Virginia, flying to rocky mountain, north carolina, on to farmville, Virginia, with a final destination of norfolk, Virginia, the student pilot turned the airplane to the wrong magnetic heading after takeoff from rocky mountain airport. The student pilot did not realize he was off course for approximately three hours. The pilot contacted farmville airport and described the terrain below him to the airport personnel. They believed he was just outside farmville, and that the airport was beyond the city he was flying over. The student pilot started to head towards the described airport when his engine quit. He made a forced landing in a university parking lot, striking a hedge and an unoccupied vehicle, before coming to rest. Post accident investigations revealed that there was one gallon of fuel in the right tank and the left tank was empty. The accident site was located near Lynchburg, Virginia, 40 nautical miles west of farmville.
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
- N5258Q
- Reported as
- Cessna 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15073158
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Norfolk Navy Flying Club
- Registered owner
- Randall G Robins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 14, 1992 · 81 hours before
- Departed
- RWI · Rocky Mount, NC
- Destination
- FVX · Farmville, VA
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 43 total · 43 in this make and model · 14 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 13 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility
- 45 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 43 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.