- Date
- August 21, 1988, 11:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Elkhart, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N9234UCessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 7, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880821034619A
- Case key
- 14150
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
While enroute on the second leg of a solo student cross country, the aircraft experienced a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. The student pilot executed a forced landing in a bean field and the aircraft nosed over during the landing roll, sustaining substantial damage. Post-accident investigation revealed an amount approximately equivalent to the unuseable fuel for the aircraft dripping from the fuel tanks and about 1 cup of fuel remaining in the system.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9234U
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15278184
- Airframe hours
- 242
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Max Belin, doing business as Aaa Flight & Service School
- Registered owner
- Max Belin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 11, 1988 · 27 hours before
- Departed
- DNV · Danville, IL
- 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
- 41
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 35 total · 33 in this make and model · 9 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 50° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SBN, 14 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.
Other investigations on N9234U · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.