# NTSB CEN12LA583: Cessna 150M, N63672, Arrow Rock, MO, August 24, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 24, 2012, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC) - Place: Arrow Rock, MO - Coordinates: 39.068332, -92.945831 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.0683&lon=-92.9458&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report May 9, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 84836 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN12LA583 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/84836/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84836 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA583 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate fuel management and in-flight decision making, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Fuel exhaustion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 804 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/192/sequence.md) - [Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 20 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 17 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Cessna 150M, 39 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=2071830), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot departed on a local flight with enough fuel for the planned 1-hour flight. However, he flew longer than planned and exhausted the usable fuel as he was returning to land. The engine lost total power, and the pilot performed a forced landing in a pasture, during which the airplane’s fuselage was substantially damaged. The pilot indicated that he purchased fuel at a local airport during his flight. However, personnel at that airport recalled that the accident airplane performed a touch-and-go landing, and the pilot did not stop or purchase fuel there. A postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no usable fuel in the fuel tanks or fuel strainer. ## Factual narrative On August 24, 2012, about 1030 central daylight time, a Cessna 150M airplane, N63672, impacted terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Arrow Rock, Missouri. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant, reported that he was uninjured. The airplane sustained substantial fuselage damage. The airplane was owned and operated by Dyer the Flyer Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual flight rules (VFR) conditions prevailed for the flight, which did not operate on a VFR flight plan. The local flight originated from the Marshall Memorial Municipal Airport (MHL), near Marshall, Missouri, about 0830. The pilot and operator were given accident reports to complete and return. The pilot's report was not returned with a history of the accident flight. However, the returned operator's report did contain a completed history of flight section. According to the operator’s accident report, the pilot asked to rent the accident airplane for a local flight. The operator asked the pilot how long he intended to fly and the pilot responded about an hour, which he "usually" did. The pilot pre-flighted the airplane and the pilot and operator both checked the fuel quantity. Both fuel tanks were "a little" over half full. The pilot performed three takeoffs and landings at MHL and departed to Jesse Viertel Memorial Airport (VER), near Boonville, Missouri. On his return flight to MHL, the pilot conducted a forced landing on a pasture. The operator indicated that during his approach, the pilot stalled the airplane about 15 feet in the air and the airplane fuselage was torn open behind the rear window. The airplane traveled through a ravine where the nose landing gear separated. The Hobbs meter showed two hours of time elapsed. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector interviewed the operator. The operator indicated to the inspector that the pilot stated he bought fuel at VER. The inspector contacted personnel at VER and they did not have any record of a fuel purchase by the accident airplane. The personnel remembered that the airplane made a touch and go. However, the airplane never stopped there. The FAA inspector examined the wreckage on scene. The aircraft was sitting slightly nose low and left wing slightly low. The inspector checked fuel quantity using a universal glass fuel quantity level tester. He found approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch of fuel at the leading edge of the left tank and no fuel in the right tank. The fuel strainer located at the bottom of the firewall was not damaged. The nose of the aircraft was lifted and the strainer drain cable was pulled. Approximately two tablespoons of fuel came out of the strainer line. At 1053, the recorded weather at the Sedalia Regional Airport, near Sedalia, Missouri, was: Wind 200 degrees at 9 knots gusting to 18 knots; visibility 10 statute miles; sky condition clear; temperature 32 degrees C; dew point 12 degrees C; altimeter30.04 inches of mercury. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N63672](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N63672-2013-05-02), registration cancelled 2013-05-02, S/N 15077473, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150M - Registry model: [Cessna 150M](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150m) (registry code 2071830) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15077473 - Airframe hours: 4320.1 - Engines: CONT MOTOR O-200A 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Pilot - Registered owner: Dyer The Flyer Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, March 10, 2012 - Departed: MHL, Marshall, MO - Destination: MHL, Marshall, MO ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 63; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review January 15, 2011; seat: left; flight hours: 385 total, 150 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 200° at 9 knots, gusting 18 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 90 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 30.04 inHg - Observed at: DMO, 23 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20120824019539A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120824019539A), Aug 24, 2012: Cessna 150M, Hardeman, MO, Destroyed. Pilot rented the aircraft from the owner who told the pilot the aircraft only had half fuel quantity, which is approximately two hours of fuel. The pilot flew… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 20, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84836. 883 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 211 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40387908&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 2, .PDF, 613 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40386760&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Communication Summary (item 3, .PDF, 59 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40386772&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Communication%20Summary-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.