- Date
- June 20, 1989, 08:59 local (13:59 UTC)
- Place
- Minden, LA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N60625Cessna 150J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890620018159A
- Case key
- 22881
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 loss of engine power due to improper maintenance performed during an annual inspection 1.6 flying hours prior to the accident which resulted in the mixture control becoming disconnected.
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 had just been purchased and was being ferried to a new location. The pilot said he had leveled off at 3,500 feet, and was attempting to lean the fuel mixture, but the engine started running rough. He placed the mixture control back to full rich and the engine smoothed out, so he decided to fly the remainder of the flight in full rich. He said the engine ran good for five minutes, then the RPM started to fall from 2,400 to 1,500, and he was unable to maintain altitude and airspeed. ATC furnished vectors toward the nearest airport, but the engine quit completely and the pilot had to make a forced landing in a heavily wooded area. Post accident investigation revealed that the mixture control housing, at the carburetor, had slipped from the attachment clamp. The mixture control arm was found in cutoff and it was found that it would not move out of cutoff, despite the position of the mixture control in the cockpit. It could be moved manually, at the carburetor. The acft had an annual unspection 1.6 hours before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N60625
- Reported as
- Cessna 150J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15070457
- Airframe hours
- 4,709
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Operator
- James M. Maples, Jr.
- Registered owner
- Milliron, Henry R
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 21, 1989 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- DTN · Shreveport, LA
- Destination
- GNV · Greenville, MS
- 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
- 38
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 250 in this make and model · 8,000 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.