- Date
- May 2, 1998, 21:30 local (May 3, 1998, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Benton, KS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6977SCessna 150H
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report January 28, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980502008339A
- Case key
- 10863
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 failure to assure an adequate fuel supply to complete the flight by refueling the airplane en route resulting in fuel exhaustion. A factor was the hedgerow which was contacted during the landing and the dark night conditions.
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 was on a cross country flight from Austin, Texas, to Benton, Kansas. After 5 hours and 45 minutes of flight the engine lost power. The pilot selected an open field in which to make a forced landing. The airplane contacted a hedgerow during touchdown. Post accident inspection revealed the left fuel tank was empty and the right fuel tank contained 7/8 of a gallon of fuel.
Factual narrative
On May 2, 1998, at 2130 central daylight time, a Cessna 150H, N6977S, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in a field in Augusta, Kansas, following a loss of engine power. The private pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight departed from the Executive Airpark Airport, Austin, Texas, at 1545 cdt, with a planned destination of Benton, Kansas.
The pilot reported that he had the airplane refueled prior to departing from Austin. The airplane holds 39 gallons of fuel. The pilot reported that when nearing Augusta, Kansas, the fuel gauges were indicating that the left tank was empty and the right tank was 1/8 full. He stated that he had his destination airport in site and was descended through 5,000 feet when the "...engine stopped running." The pilot stated that he circled a private airstrip which was on his sectional chart, but decided not to land there because of the darkness and nearby houses. He stated that he instead decided to land in an open field near the airstrip. The pilot stated that as he approached touchdown the airplane contacted a hedgerow appeared in the landing lights "...causing the damage in what would have otherwise been an uneventful landing."
Post accident inspection of the airplane revealed the left fuel tank was empty and the right fuel tank contained 7/8 of a gallon of fuel.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6977S
- Reported as
- Cessna 150H
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15067677
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rudy Wilson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 1997
- Departed
- 3R3 · Austin, TX
- Destination
- 1K1
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 116 total · 44 in this make and model · 116 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 30 days · 11 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 360° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ICT, 21 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.