- Date
- October 24, 1987, 17:50 local (21:50 UTC)
- Place
- Pepperell, MA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N310DWCessna 152
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report May 26, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871024060469A
- Case key
- 36040
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
A student pilot on a cross country training flight experienced fuel exhaustion at about 3500 feet. The pilot stated that when the engine lost power he contacted approach control on 121.5 but did not have sufficient altitude to make it to an airport. The aircraft made a forced landing in a corn field. The acft fuel tanks hold 24.5 gals of useable fuel. The acft burns 6 gph at 2400 RPM at 4000 ft. many factors can alter fuel consumption such as leaning technique and condition of engine. This eng had 1372 hours flt time. On this flt the plt flew 4 plus hrs prior to the loss of power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N310DW
- Reported as
- Cessna 152
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15285761
- Airframe hours
- 1,373
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-N2C, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Daniel Webster College
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · October 6, 1987
- Departed
- ALB · Albany, NY
- Destination
- ASH · Nashua, NH
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 31
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 56 total · 56 in this make and model · 13 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 250° at 17 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Observed at
- BED
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.