# NTSB CHI01LA068: Cessna 150G, N6281S, La Rose, IL, January 18, 2001 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 18, 2001, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: La Rose, IL - Coordinates: 40.980007, -89.230331 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.9800&lon=-89.2303&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 5, 2002 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 51368 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CHI01LA068 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/51368/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA068 ## Probable cause the pilot's inadequate airplane preflight and the snow covered terrain. A factor was the fuel exhaustion. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - aircraft preflight - inadequate, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (contributing factor) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - emergency procedure - performed, pilot in command - Nose over, emergency landing - terrain condition - snow covered (cause) ## Analysis The airplane sustained substantial damage during nose over encountered on a forced landing to a snow covered field, following an in-flight loss of engine power. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot stated, "In order to describe the circumstances leading up to this accident in chronological order we have to go back to the ending of my last flight. I have been flying this aircraft for the past nineteen years and the ending of every flight was a stop at the fuel pumps to top up the tanks." The pilot did not state that he looked in the fuel tanks during the airplane's preflight for the accident flight. He stated that he perceived that the fuel gauges indicated full. He said, "They are always full. ... My conclusion - Someone between my last flight and this, someone entered my hanger and removed 76% (17 gals) of the useable fuel from my airplane." The airplane's engine was test run at low power and it ran smoothly. Fuel was put in each tank and the fuel gauges indicated above empty. Fuel was found leaking from around the shaft of the fuel shut off valve. ## Factual narrative On January 18, 2001, about 1500 central standard time, a Cessna 150G, N6281S, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during nose over encountered on a forced landing to a snow covered field, following an in-flight loss of engine power near La Rose, Illinois. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight departed from Illinois Valley Regional-Walter A. Duncan Field Airport, near Peru, Illinois, about 1440 and was returning to Marshall County Airport at the time of the accident. The pilot stated, "In order to describe the circumstances leading up to this accident in chronological order we have to go back to the ending of my last flight. I have been flying this aircraft for the past nineteen years and the ending of every flight was a stop at the fuel pumps to top up the tanks." The pilot did not state that he looked in the fuel tanks during the airplane's preflight for the accident flight. He stated that he perceived that the fuel gauges indicated full. He said, "They are always full. ... My conclusion - Someone between my last flight and this, someone entered my hanger and removed 76% (17 gals) of the useable fuel from my airplane. I do not say this as an excuse. There is no excuse for running out of fuel. The regulations are quite plain as to who is responsible to insure adequate fuel for the flight. That's fine. I can live with that. I've always been willing to accept the responsibility for my actions. ... As for the future, if I choose to continue pursuing this hobby, my check list will have to include two more lines, 'Stick the tanks' and 'Check for theft and vandalism!'." The Federal Aviation Administration arranged for a Fixed Base Operator to perform an examination of the airplane. The airplane's engine was test run at low power and it ran smoothly. Fuel was put in each tank and the fuel gauges indicated above empty. Fuel was found leaking from around the shaft of the fuel shut off valve. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6281S](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6281S-2013-08-20), registration cancelled 2013-08-20, S/N 15067081, built 1967 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 150G - Registry model: [Cessna 150G](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150g) (registry code 2071816) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15067081 - Airframe hours: 4484 - Engines: Continental O-200 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Phillip Edward Reed - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility - Last inspection: Annual, January 28, 2000, 21 hours before - Departed: VYS, PERU, IL - Destination: C75, LACON, IL ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; last flight review August 26, 1999; seat: left; flight hours: 729 total, 696 in this make and model, 648 as pilot in command, 4 in the last 90 days, 0 in the last 30 days, 0 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 34 °F, dew point 25 °F - Altimeter: 29.95 inHg - Observed at: PIA, 25 nm away 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.