- Date
- May 21, 1989, 07:50 local (14:50 UTC)
- Place
- Bakersfield, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N18515Cessna 150L
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 22, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890521012379A
- Case key
- 26413
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. The pilot did not adequately plan for the flight in that he did not calculate the fuel consumption accurately, failed to provide for adequate fuel reserves, and also failed to land at airports short of his destination even though he was aware of his low fuel state.
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
During a cross country flight, while on approach to the runway, the pilot reported that the engine lost power. A forced landing was initiated and during the landing roll, the airplane collided with a fence in a residential area. Inspection of the fuel tanks revealed that approximately one and a half gallons remained. There were no reported mechanical failures or malfunctions. The plt did not file an acc report. During a telephone interview the pilot stated that he estimated that the fuel tanks were half full on departure and that he encountered strong winds enroute. He also stated that he was aware of a low fuel state but attempted to continue to his destination.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N18515
- Reported as
- Cessna 150L
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15073906
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Grieves, Bruce
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- IYK · Inyokern, CA
- Destination
- BFL · Bakersfield, CA
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 13 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- 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.