# NTSB LAX05CA044: Cessna 150J, N60469, Amado, AZ, December 8, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: December 7, 2004, 16:37 local (Dec 8, 2004, 00:37 UTC) - Place: Amado, AZ - Coordinates: 31.7, -111.050003 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.7000&lon=-111.0500&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 1 minor, 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 24, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 60687 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX05CA044 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60687/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX05CA044 ## Probable cause the pilot's inaccurate fuel consumption calculations and failure to refuel the airplane at the intermediate stop, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, approach - vfr pattern - downwind - fuel consumption calculations - inaccurate, pilot in command (cause) - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - refueling - not performed, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - On ground/water collision with object, emergency landing - terrain condition - high vegetation - object - tree(s) - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The airplane collided with a mesquite tree during an off airport landing following a total loss of engine power. The pilot reported that during the cross-country flight he had become disoriented and lost, and eventually landed at an airport he came across. After obtaining directions to his original destination, he departed. In the area of Amado he decided to try to land due to a low fuel state. While he was setting up to land the engine quit running. An off airport landing was attempted, and during the landing sequence the airplane struck a mesquite tree and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported to the aircraft recovery personnel that he had run out of fuel. The recovery firm found that the airplane's fuel system was intact and no fuel was found either in the tanks or on the ground. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. ## Factual narrative On December 7, 2004, at 1637 mountain standard time, a Cessna 150J, N60469, lost engine power and impacted trees and terrain during an emergency landing near Amado, Arizona. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot was not injured, and the single passenger sustained minor injuries; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The personal cross-country flight departed Blythe, California, at 1243, en route to Tucson, Arizona. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The wreckage was at 31 degrees 42.00 minutes north latitude and 111 degrees 3.00 minutes west longitude. The pilot/owner recently bought the airplane in California, and was ferrying it to Kingwood, Texas. The pilot reported that he departed Blythe at 1243, and intended to fly to Tucson, Arizona. The route of flight was eastbound along interstate 10 (I10) until he passed Ehrenberg, Arizona, then direct to Gila Bend Airport (E63), Gila Bend, Arizona. When the pilot arrived in the area of E63 he was disoriented and lost, and he flew past E63. The pilot was not sure of his actual route of flight, but eventually landed at Sells Airport (E78), Sells, Arizona, about 1535. At the airport the pilot obtained information about his location and was given directions to Tucson. The pilot departed E78 and flew southeast until he was in the area of Amado. He was attempting to land at the airport when the engine quit. During the off airport landing the airplane struck a mesquite tree and came to rest inverted. The pilot stated that the airplane had no mechanical failures or malfunctions during the flight. The pilot reported to the aircraft recovery personnel that he had "run out of fuel." The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) interviewed the pilot. The pilot stated that he did not inquire about fuel while at Sells airport, nor did he determine how much fuel was on board the airplane. The pilot's operating handbook indicated that the airplane had 22.5 gallons of useable fuel. The pilot reported that on December 6, 2004, he instructed Blythe airport personnel to refuel the airplane, but did not know how much fuel they put on board the airplane. The IIC contacted the manager at Blythe airport. The fueling records indicated that they refueled the accident airplane with 17.5 gallons of 100 LL on December 6, 2004. The airplane was recovered and transported to Phoenix, Arizona. Recovery personnel reported that the fuel tanks on the airplane had not been breeched during the accident sequence. They found no fuel in the fuel tanks, or on the ground adjacent to the wreckage. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N60469](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N60469-2013-04-25), registration cancelled 2013-04-25, S/N 15070332, built 1969 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Cessna 150J - Registry model: [Cessna 150J](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150j) (registry code 2071820) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 15070332 - Engines: Continental O-200 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Joseph M. Good - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal; Standard, Utility - Departed: E78, SELLS, AZ - Destination: TUS, TUCSON, AZ - Airport: NONE, Amado airstrip ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 51; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; flight hours: 480 total, 13 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Dusk - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20041207035599A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20041207035599A), Dec 7, 2004: Cessna 150J, Amado, AZ, Destroyed. (-23) On December 07, 2004, N60469 was enroute from blythe, CA to houston, TX when it crashed in a field at amato, AZ. The aircraft was destroyed when it came… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.