- Date
- December 12, 1991, 19:18 local (Dec 13, 1991, 00:18 UTC)
- Place
- Charlestown, IN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N60040Cessna 150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report January 15, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911212059049A
- Case key
- 15372
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. Factors related to the accident were inadequate maintenance of the airplane and the pilot's decision to fly an airplane with known mechanical deficiencies.
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 pilot experienced a loss of engine power during the night cross country due to fuel exhaustion. A forced landing was made in a field which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. Also, the right wing fuel transmitter was inoperable, and the airplane was reported to have had a problem with excessive fuel usage in the past.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N60040
- Reported as
- Cessna 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15070026
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Business Air, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Business Air, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 29, 1991
- Departed
- CMH · Columbus, OH
- Destination
- RNA · Nashville, TN
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
- 30
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 5,000 total · 100 in this make and model · 4,000 as pilot in command · 180 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 190° at 11 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LOU, 20 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.