- Date
- March 24, 2015, 10:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Flushing, MI
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N7987ECessna 150
- Defining event
- Initial climb: Fuel contamination
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 1, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20150324004259A
- Case key
- 90929
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
Loss of engine power due to fuel contamination. A factor contributing to the accident was the pilot's inadequate preflight.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
During a preflight examination, the pilot identified fuel contamination from water, in his airplane's fuel tanks. He removed approximately one quart of water each from the right wing, left wing, belly drain and engine strainer. He thought he removed all the water from the fuel system and started the engine. He performed an engine run up at twenty-two hundred revolutions per minute. After a five minute engine run, the pilot decided the airplane was suitable for flight and initiated a take-off. Upon reaching an altitude of four hundred feet, the engine lost power. He entered an emergency descent and forced landing, subsequently impacting several trees and eventually the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to wings, fuselage, and empennage.
Factual narrative
During a preflight examination, the pilot identified fuel contamination from water, in his airplane's fuel tanks. He removed approximately one quart of water each from the right wing, left wing, belly drain and engine strainer. He thought he removed all the water from the fuel system and started the engine. He performed an engine run up at twenty-two hundred revolutions per minute. After a five minute engine run, the pilot decided the airplane was suitable for flight and initiated a take-off. Upon reaching an altitude of four hundred feet, the engine lost power. He entered an emergency descent and forced landing, subsequently impacting several trees and eventually the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to wings, fuselage, and empennage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7987E
- Reported as
- Cessna 150 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17787
- Built
- 1960
- Airframe hours
- 3,141
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Thomas Carr
- Registered owner
- Thomas Carr
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 25, 2014 · 3 hours before
- Departed
- 3DA · Dalton, MI
- Destination
- KPTK · Waterford, MI
- Airport
- 3DA · Dalton, runway 36, 2,510 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
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
- 66
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 19, 2013
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 603 total · 557 in this make and model · 581 as pilot in command · 1.7 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 25 °F, dew point 12 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.36 inHg
- Observed at
- KFNT, 1 nm away
Docket · 5
The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 26, 2015, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.5 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.