- Date
- July 18, 1990, 13:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- California, MO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6095MCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 14708
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
Fuel exhaustion due to the student pilots lack of fuel use awareness and inadequate training regarding cross country fuel consumption planning and awareness.
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
Upon encountering adverse weather during a solo cross country flight the student pilot was unable to land at her planned destination. After a period of time she landed at an airport. During her return flight to the home airport she encountered adverse weather. During her second diversionary action her airplane's engine quit due to fuel exhaustion. The total flying time associated with this days activity was 3.0 hours. The hourly range for her airplane, based on the pilots operating handbook, is approximately 4.2 hours. The airplane is part of a manufacturer's service letter which emphasizes the need to lean the fuel mixture while in flight. The student pilot had not leaned the mixture properly and was not trained to do so. The subsequent forced landing on a downward sloping, tiered pasture destroyed the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6095M
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15284620
- Airframe hours
- 4,697
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-L2C, 110 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- St. Charles Flying Service
- Registered owner
- St. Charles Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 9, 1990 · 29 hours before
- Departed
- A1Z · Brumley, MO
- Destination
- 3SZ · St. Charles, MO
- 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
- 20
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 25 total · 25 in this make and model · 11 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 220° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 2,500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JEF, 20 nm away
Other investigations on N6095M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.