- Date
- January 4, 1991, 13:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Bemidji, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6803GCessna 150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910104000329A
- Case key
- 14983
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 pilot's improper preflight inspection of the airplane.
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
A solo private pilot rented an airplane and was informed it had flown since its last refueling. He determined the fuel available for the flight by reading the fuel gauges. He states the guages were off and read one quarter tank when fuel exhaustion occurred. He made a forced landing on a frozen lake where the airplane nosed over in 12 inches of snow.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6803G
- Reported as
- Cessna 150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15072303
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Durst Aircraft, Inc., doing business as Portage Air
- Registered owner
- Durst Aircraft, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- ELO · Ely, MN
- Destination
- BJI · Bemidji, MN
- 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
- 31
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 140 total · 5 in this make and model · 40 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BJT, 17 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.