- Date
- August 30, 1994, 18:25 local (22:25 UTC)
- Place
- Ravenswood, WV
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2150NCessna 140
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940830024079A
- Case key
- 8978
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 poorly planned approach which resulted in unporting of fuel from the left fuel tank and loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
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 pilot was doing touch and go landings. According to the pilot, during the approach '... a slip maneuver to the left was utilized with the left fuel tank selected.' The pilot stated that the landing was uneventful and he initiated a takeoff. The pilot stated that about 100 feet above the ground, the engine lost total power. The pilot tried to restart the engine to no avail. The airplane descended into trees and came to rest on foilage about six feet above the ground. Post-accident examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies. An FAA inspector reported 'He [the pilot] believes that the slip maneuver caused a interruption of the fuel flow from that [left] tank.'
Factual narrative
On August 30, 1994, at 1825 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 140, N2150N, lost total engine power during takeoff climb from the Jackson County Airport in Ravenswood, West Virginia, and collided into trees. The pilot received a serious injury and the passenger was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The pilot reported on his Aircraft Accident Report form, "On final approach, I slipped to the left to a normal landing. I applied full power and took off. When I was about 100 feet in the air and over the end of the runway the engine suddenly quit running. I immediately pulled the carburetor heat with no effect. I pumped the throttle several times. The first two times the engine caught but did not continue to run. I then switched tanks but nothing changed. All the while I was still controlling the plane. By this time the plane had begun to contact the tops of the trees and was rapidly slowing." The airplane collided with the trees and came to rest on foliage about six feet above the ground.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector wrote in his accident report, "Pilot stated that during last approach to landing a slip maneuver to the left was utilized with the left fuel tank selected. He [the pilot] believes that the slip maneuver caused a interruption of the fuel flow from that tank."
Post-accident examinations of the airframe and engine did not reveal any anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2150N
- Reported as
- Cessna 140
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 12386
- Airframe hours
- 3,102
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Jackson, Warren
- Registered owner
- Jackson, Warren
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 22, 1994 · 22 hours before
- Airport
- I18 · Jackson County, runway 21, 4,000 × 75 ft
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
- 65
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 524 total · 504 in this make and model · 484 as pilot in command · 18 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 15,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.