- Date
- April 9, 2006, 23:30 local (Apr 10, 2006, 04:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sandstone, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N50970Cessna 150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 31, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20060409005179A
- Case key
- 63539
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 total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's inadequate preflight. A contributing factor was the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing.
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 single-engine airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing after a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that after about one hour of flight during a night cross-country flight, the engine began to run rough. The pilot reported that he pulled the carburetor heat on, and the engine ran normally for about 1-5 minutes. He reported that the engine lost power without any warning indications. He executed a forced landing to a field, but the airplane "ground looped" during the rollout. The inspection of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks had minimal fuel in the tanks. No fuel leaks were observed and no fuel was visible on the ground. The Hobbs meter indicated that the airplane was flown 4.9 hours since the last time the airplane was filled with fuel. The airplane held 26 gallons of fuel with 22.5 gallons useable.
Factual narrative
The single-engine airplane sustained substantial damage during a forced landing after a loss of engine power. The pilot reported that after about one hour of flight during a night cross-country flight, the engine began to run rough. The pilot reported that he pulled the carburetor heat on, and the engine ran normally for about 1-5 minutes. He reported that the engine quit without any warning indications. He executed a forced landing to a field, but the airplane "ground looped" during the rollout. The inspection of the airplane revealed that the fuel tanks had minimal fuel in the tanks. No fuel leaks were observed and no fuel was visible on the ground. The Hobbs meter indicated that the airplane was flown 4.9 hours since the last time the airplane was filled with fuel. The airplane held 26 gallons of fuel with 22.5 gallons useable.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N50970
- Reported as
- Cessna 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15069681
- Engine
- Continental O-200, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- JN Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- ROS · Rush City, MN
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
- 35
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 115 total · 50 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.