- Date
- December 25, 1996, 12:05 local (18:05 UTC)
- Place
- Austin, TX
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N66773Cessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 23, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19961225040199A
- Case key
- 20136
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 fuel exhaustion as result of the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane. Factors were the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing and the pilot's improper preflight inspection of the fuel system.
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
According to tower personnel at the airport, the pilot declared an emergency due to a low fuel state. Within minutes the engine was reported to have lost power, and the pilot announced that he was attempting to execute a forced landing in a local high school field approximately 1 mile southeast of the airport. The airplane missed the field, collided with power lines, and subsequently impacted an unoccupied residence in a nose low attitude. The pilot stated that he departed Addison at approximately 1000 hours with the fuel gages reading between 3/4 and full. The pilot added that he navigated to Austin at 4,000 feet MSL, and based on the smoke being emitted from a fire near a lake, he determined that he had a tailwind. A detailed examination of the airplane's fuel system confirmed that no usable fuel was present in either fuel cell. The distance between Addison, Texas, and Austin, Texas, is 166.2 nautical miles.
Factual narrative
On December 25, 1996, at 1205 central standard time, a Cessna 150M airplane, N66773, was substantially damaged upon impact with a house during a forced landing near Austin, Texas. The non-instrument rated private pilot sustained minor injuries and his passenger was uninjured. The airplane, owned by a private owner, was being operated by Addison Air Training Inc., under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross country flight for which a flight plan was not filed. The flight departed from Addison, Texas, at approximately 1000.
According to tower personnel at the Robert Mueller Airport in Austin, Texas, the pilot declared an emergency due to a low fuel state. The engine was reported to have lost power and the pilot announced that he was attempting to execute a forced landing in a local high school field approximately one mile southeast of the airport. The airplane missed the field, collided with power lines, and subsequently impacted an unoccupied residence in a nose low attitude.
On the enclosed NTSB pilot/operator report, the pilot stated that he departed Addison at approximately 1000, with the fuel gages reading between 3/4 and full. The pilot stated that a student pilot told him that there was some fluid leaking on the nose wheel tire. The pilot further stated that his wife later told him that she had observed the same condition prior to getting in the airplane. Prior to leaving the ramp area, the flight instructor told the pilot "not to worry."
The pilot added that he navigated to Austin at 4,000 feet MSL, and based on the smoke being emitted from a fire near a lake, he determined that he had a tailwind.
Examination of the 1974 model airplane by the FAA inspector confirmed that both wings and the airframe sustained structural damage. A detailed examination of the airplane's fuel system confirmed that no usable fuel was present in either fuel cell. The distance between Addison and Austin, Texas, is 166.2 nautical miles.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N66773
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15076267
- Airframe hours
- 4,000
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Lemoin D. Watkins
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · December 5, 1996 · 25 hours before
- Departed
- ADS · Addison, TX
- Destination
- AUS · Austin, TX
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 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 168 total · 65 in this make and model · 104 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,500 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 45 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AUS, 1 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.