- Date
- March 24, 1999, 18:44 local (23:44 UTC)
- Place
- Columbia, SC
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8397GCessna 15OF
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 25, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990324037119A
- Case key
- 45981
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 pilots failure to maintain a visual lookout during a forced landing to a highway. This resulted in the left main landing gear colliding with a rain grate separating the left main landing gear. Contributing to the accident was a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
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 was about 2 miles from his destination airport when he experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot made a forced landing to a highway, landed on the shoulder, and the landing gear collided with a rain grate. The left main landing gear collided with a rain grate and separated. Visual examination of the left fuel tank revealed it was empty. The right fuel tank contained about 1/2 ounce of fuel.
Factual narrative
On March 24, 1999, about 1844 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150F, N8397G, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, experienced a total loss of engine power on final approach and made a forced landing to an interstate highway. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and one pilot reported no injuries. The flight originated from Enterprise, Alabama, about 3 hours 6 minutes before the accident.
The pilot stated he departed Enterprise at about 1440 central standard time. He climbed to 3,500 feet and was vectored around restricted areas along his route of flight. He climbed to 5,500 feet and cruised at 75 percent power. Upon reaching Macon, Georgia, he descended to 3,500 feet, and descended to 2,000 feet when he was instructed to contact Columbia tower. He was being sequenced for landing on runway 29. About 2 miles from the airport the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. He was provided winds, altimeter, and runway information. He informed the tower that he would be unable to make the airport. A shallow turn was made to the right and a forced landing was made to the shoulder of the interstate. The left main landing gear collided with a steel grate and separated the landing gear. The airplane rotated around the lateral axis to the right, collapsed the nose gear and came to a complete stop. Examination of the fuel tanks by the pilot revealed no fuel was present.
Examination of the fuel tanks revealed the left fuel tank was empty and the right fuel tank contained about 1/2 ounce of fuel. The fuel bowl had only a thumbnail of fuel in the bowl.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8397G
- Reported as
- Cessna 15OF
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15062497
- Airframe hours
- 4,989
- Engine
- Continental 0200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Christopher E. Forsythe
- Registered owner
- Christopher E. Forsythe
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 1999 · 7 hours before
- Departed
- EDN · Enterprise, AL
- Destination
- CAE
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 323 total · 235 in this make and model · 236 as pilot in command · 66 in the last 90 days · 39 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CAE, 1 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.