- Date
- October 4, 2000, 22:00 local (Oct 5, 2000, 02:00 UTC)
- Place
- Haverford Twp., PA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N704STCessna 150M
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report July 2, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 50396
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
A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Also causal was the pilot's inability to locate the airport. A factor in this accident was the dark night conditions.
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 stated he departed with about 7 or 8 gallons of fuel on board; however, he was not certain how long he had been in flight. The pilot reported the airplane 'ran out of gas' while searching for an airport at night, and he performed a forced landing into trees. The airplane came to rest about 150 feet into a quarry and was not recovered. The airplane's last annual inspection was about 13 months prior to the accident. The pilot's most recent Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate was dated about 13 years prior to the accident. He reported 200 hours of total flight experience at that time.
Factual narrative
On October 4, 2000, about 2200 Eastern Daylight Time, a Cessna 150M, N704ST, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in Haverford Township, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot was seriously injured. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the flight that departed the Brandywine Airport (N99), West Chester, Pennsylvania. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
During a telephone interview, the pilot stated he intended to fly to the New Garden Airport, Toughkenaman, Pennsylvania, which was located about 15 miles southwest of N99; however, he was unable to locate the airport and elected to return to N99. The pilot stated that he had difficulty finding N99, and while searching for the runway, "the airplane ran out of gas."
The pilot performed a forced landing into trees, and the airplane came to rest about 150 feet into a quarry. As of April 2000, the airplane had not been recovered.
The pilot stated he departed with about 7 or 8 gallons of fuel on board; however, he was not certain how long he had been in flight. Additionally, the pilot said he did not experience any mechanical problems during the flight.
The airplane's most recent annual inspection was performed on September 8, 1999, and the pilot reported the airplane had been flown "a few hours" since the inspection.
The pilot's most recent application for a Federal Aviation Administration medical certificate, was processed on July 23, 1987. At that time he reported 200 hours of total flight experience.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N704ST
- Reported as
- Cessna 150M
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15078844
- Airframe hours
- 1,495
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Levi Robinson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 8, 1999 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- N99 · West Chester, PA
- Destination
- N57 · Toughkenamon, PA
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
- 70
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 200 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 260° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PHL, 20 nm away
Other investigations on N704ST · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.