- Date
- August 6, 1994, 18:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- East Tawas, MI
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N7760FCessna 150F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 14, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940806020599A
- Case key
- 9628
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
inadequate prelight planning/preparation by the pilot and the subsequent inadequate fuel supply.
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 airplane lost all engine power immediately after taking off from a private airstrip. The solo private pilot made a forced landing on an adjacent farm field. The pilot was en route to a local airport to have an annual inspection performed on his airplane. The pilot reported he attempted to takeoff with 1/8 of a tank of automotive fuel in each wing tank. The airplane was equipped with two 26 gallon fuel tanks, each with an unusable fuel amount of 3.5 gallons.
Factual narrative
On August 6, 1994, about 1845 central daylight time, a Cessna 150F, N7760F, experienced a loss of engine power immediately after taking off from a private airstrip in East Tawas, Michigan. The solo private pilot made a forced landing on an adjacent field. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot received serious injuries. The flight operated in visual meteorological conditions under 14 CFR Part 91 without flight plan.
The pilot was en route to Iosco County Airport, East Tawas, Michigan, to have an annual inspection performed on the airplane. In a statement made to the FAA, the pilot reported he attempted to takeoff with 1/8 of a tank of automotive fuel in each wing. The pilot also stated that he has experienced this same type of incident in the past when he had attempted to takeoff with low fuel.
A postaccident examination was performed. The airplane was equipped with two 26 gallons fuel tanks. The attached Fuel Quantity Data Chart from the Cessna Owner's Manual for this airplane, indicates the amount of unusable fuel in each tank is 3.50 gallons. Calculating the amount of fuel aboard the airplane prior to takeoff, using the pilot's estimate, the airplane had 3.25 gallons in each tank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7760F
- Reported as
- Cessna 150F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15063860
- Airframe hours
- 1,930
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William R. Mioduch
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 1990 · 1,788 hours before
- Airport
- NONE · Private Airstrip, runway 18, 2,200 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 56
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,276 total · 1,166 in this make and model · 11 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.