- Date
- September 27, 1992, 09:30 local (16:30 UTC)
- Place
- Show Low, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N1104YCessna 150B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 14, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920927038879A
- Case key
- 27779
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
Fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate preflight inspection of the aircraft and his failure to refuel the aircraft prior to departure.
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 pilot had just picked up the newly purchased aircraft after completion of an annual inspection. During the preflight inspection the pilot said he looked inside the fuel tanks and thought they were about half full. The pilot said he did not use a dip stick or other measuring device to quantify the amount of fuel on board. The pilot departed the airport for a local area flight and the engine quit about 45 minutes into the flight. Vehicle traffic precluded the pilot landing on a highway and he attempted to land in a confined field. The aircraft collided with juniper trees short of the field. An FAA inspector examined the aircraft and reported finding no fuel in the lines forward of the firewall. The carburetor bowl contained only residual fuel. The fuel tanks were drained and found to contain only 2.5 gallons of automotive gasoline.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1104Y
- Reported as
- Cessna 150B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15059504
- Airframe hours
- 4,400
- Engine
- Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard L. Evans
- Registered owner
- Richard L. Evans
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 26, 1992 · 3 hours before
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 81 total · 67 in this make and model · 13 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.