- Date
- June 13, 1985, 00:25 local (07:25 UTC)
- Place
- Colusa, CA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N704FUCessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850613024719A
- Case key
- 24739
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 plt preflighted the acft at night with a flashlight and noted 12-15 gals of fuel in the tanks. Upon level off at 5500 ft AGL he noted a slight lack of engine power. He also noted that one fuel tank was empty and the other tank read 1/4 full. Because of these factors he decided to divert to an arpt he had in sight. During the descent to that arpt, the eng quit running. The plt then performed a forced landing in trees. The acft came to rest upright in a drainage ditch aprx 50 yards from the arpt rwy. An examination of the acft revealed the fuel tanks were empty.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N704FU
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15078583
- Airframe hours
- 2,892
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Dan Fregin
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 20, 1985 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- 069 · Petaluma, CA
- Destination
- 037 · Orland, CA
- Airport
- 008 · Colusa County, runway 13, 3,000 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 42
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 170 total · 64 in this make and model · 141 as pilot in command · 6 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/bright
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.