- Date
- June 28, 2007, 15:18 local (19:18 UTC)
- Place
- Lancaster, PA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7842ECessna 150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20070628015989A
- Case key
- 66125
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 pilot's decision to conduct the flight while impaired by alcohol, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and substantial damage to the airplane during the subsequent forced landing.
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
At approximately 1518 eastern daylight time, the owner/pilot of a Cessna 150 conducted an emergency landing off-airport in a cornfield after a total loss of engine power. No flight plan was filed, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. According to local law enforcement personnel, the pilot said he departed Smoketown Airport (S37), Smoketown, Pennsylvania, at approximately 1345. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that was on scene, the fuel quantity remaining was less than the manufacturer's published minimum fuel required for engine operation in flight. The inspector did not report any fuel tank damage or leaks. Additionally, the inspector reported that the pilot's third class medical certificate had expired in May 2003, that the pilot did not meet the Flight Review currency requirements, and that the ELT battery was beyond its expiration date. The pilot failed field sobriety tests administered to him on-site by a local law enforcement officer, and a breathalyzer test yielded an alcohol concentration reading of 0.153 percent blood alcohol. FAR 91.17(a) specifies a maximum blood alcohol concentration of less than 0.04 percent.
Factual narrative
At approximately 1518 eastern daylight time, the owner/pilot of a Cessna 150 conducted an emergency landing off-airport in a cornfield after a total loss of engine power. No flight plan was filed, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed. According to local law enforcement personnel, the pilot said he departed Smoketown Airport (S37), Smoketown, Pennsylvania, at approximately 1345. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that was on scene, the fuel quantity remaining was less than the manufacturer's published minimum fuel required for engine operation in flight. The inspector did not report any fuel tank damage or leaks. Additionally, the inspector reported that the pilot's third class medical certificate had expired in May 2003, that the pilot did not meet the Flight Review currency requirements, and that the ELT battery was beyond its expiration date. The pilot failed field sobriety tests administered to him on-site by a local law enforcement officer, and a breathalyzer test yielded an alcohol concentration reading of 0.153 percent blood alcohol. FAR 91.17(a) specifies a maximum blood alcohol concentration of less than 0.04 percent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7842E
- Reported as
- Cessna 150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17642
- Airframe hours
- 5,220
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- S37 · Smoketown, PA
- Destination
- KLNS · Lancaster, 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
- 44
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 700 total · 680 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 86 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- LNS, 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.
Other investigations on N7842E · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.