LAX95LA061

NTSB accident investigation · Cessna 150L · North Las Vegas, NV · December 27, 1994

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
December 27, 1994, 12:47 local (20:47 UTC)
Place
North Las Vegas, NV
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N7446GCessna 150L
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report May 16, 1995
Report
Approved by Office Director
FAA report
19941227042379A
Case key
29002

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

the pilot's improper in-flight planning and decisions, and his failure to initiate remedial actions in a timely fashion.

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.

Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanicalCruise
Fluid,fuel - exhaustion
Became lost/disoriented - inadvertentPilot in commandCause
In-flight planning/decision - improperPilot in commandCause
Remedial action - delayedPilot in commandCause
Forced landingEmergency descent/landing
In flight collision with objectDescent - emergency
Object - wire,transmission
Object - tree(s)
Object - residence

Analysis

The student said that he became lost while on a cross-country. After flying in excess of 3 hours, he eventually found himself over the las Vegas area. The North Las Vegas air traffic control tower was attempting to help the pilot find the airport when the engine lost power. The aircraft collided with power lines and trees in a residential area as the pilot was attempting a forced landing on a street. The aircraft was examined by FAA inspectors who reported finding only residual fuel in the fuel tanks. The pilot applied for, and was issued, two different combined student and third-class medical certificates on may 24 and July 8, 1994. The first certificate was denied by the FAA for medical reasons, while the second was denied on administrative and legal grounds.

Factual narrative

On December 27, 1994, at 1247 Pacific standard time, a Cessna 150L, N7446G, collided with power lines and trees in a residential area of North Las Vegas, Nevada, following fuel exhaustion. The aircraft was owned and operated by Pacific Air College of Ramona, California, and was on a student solo cross- country instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The student pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated at Ramona, California, on the day of the accident at 0915 as a cross-country flight to Parker and Needles, California.

In a verbal statement to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors, the student said that he became lost while on the cross-country to Needles. After flying in excess of 3 hours, he eventually found himself over the Las Vegas area. The North Las Vegas Air Traffic Control Tower was attempting to help the pilot find the airport when the engine lost power. The aircraft collided with power lines and trees in a residential area as the pilot was attempting a forced landing on a street.

The aircraft was examined by FAA inspectors who reported finding only residual fuel in the fuel tanks.

Review of the pilot's FAA Airman and Medical records files disclosed that he was issued a combined third-class medical and student pilot certificate on May 24, 1994. That certificate was subsequently denied by the medical review branch of the Aeromedical Certification Division on June 23, 1994, for medical reasons. The pilot applied for, and was issued, a third-class medical and student certificate on July 8, 1994, by a different medical examiner than the one who issued the May 24, 1994, certificate. The second medical was subsequently denied by the Aeromedical Certification Division on administrative and legal grounds.

Aircraft

Registration
N7446G
Reported as
Cessna 150L
Category
Airplane
Serial number
15074658
Airframe hours
4,538
Engine
Continental O-200A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Instructional · Part 91
Operator
Pacific Air College
Registered owner
Mackenzie Aviation
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
100 hour · December 9, 1994 · 28 hours before
Departed
L39 · Ramona, CA
Destination
EED · Needles, 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
56
Seat
Left
Flight hours
46 total · 46 in this make and model · 10 as pilot in command · 8 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
50 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
50 °F
Altimeter
30.00 inHg
Observed at
VGT, 5 nm away

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.