NYC97LA111

The pilot was in cruise flight at 7,500 feet with the mixture leaned out when he developed 'engine problems.' The pilot thought he had encountered carburetor icing, so he applied carburetor heat and changed the mixture. The pilot was near Lebanon, New Hampshire, when it appeared the engine problem was resolved, so he chose to continue to his destination. The pilot reported that some time later, he heard a loud noise from under the engine and experienced engine 'roughness.' He pilot attempted to restore engine power by leaning the mixture, checking the magnetos, and by changing flight attitude and direction. However, after a few minutes the engine completely lost power. The pilot stated the engine stopped and he performed a forced landing to a road. During the forced landing, the airplane struck a sign, went over an embankment, and came to rest in a ditch. The pilot reported that he had been flying for 3 to 3.5 hours and that he should have had 5 hours of flight time on full tanks and that, '...fuel usage was 5 gallons per hour.' Examination of the wreckage revealed 1.5 gallons of fuel on board. According to the Pilot's Operating Handbook, the airplane had a 26 gallon fuel capacity, of which 22.5 gallons was usable. The duration of the accident flight was 3.8 hours.

On June 8, 1997, approximately 1250 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150-K, N6218G, was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a road near Jay, Maine. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that originated at Schenectady, New York (SCH), at 0908, and was destined for Pittsfield, Maine (2B7). The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed.

In the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Safety Inspector's report, he stated the pilot was in cruise flight at 7,500 feet with the mixture leaned out when he developed "engine problems." The pilot thought he had encountered carburetor icing so he applied carburetor heat and changed the mixture. The pilot was near Lebanon, New Hampshire, when it appeared the engine problem was resolved, so he chose to continue to Pittsfield. The pilot reported that sometime later, he heard a loud noise from under the engine and experienced engine "roughness."

The pilot attempted to restore engine power by leaning the mixture, checking the magnetos, and by changing flight attitude and direction. However, after a few minutes the engine completely lost power. The pilot stated the engine stopped and he performed a forced landing to a road. During the forced landing, the airplane struck a snow depth gauge, went over an embankment, and came to rest in a ditch.

An Officer of the Jay Police Department reported that the pilot said he had been flying for 3 to 3.5 hours and that he should have had 5 hours of flight time on full tanks. According to the Officer, the pilot, "...stated that fuel usage was 5 gallons per hour."

A review of the take off and landing times revealed the plane was aloft for 3.8 hours. The Cessna Pilot's Operating Handbook stated that the Model 150 was equipped with a fuel capacity of 26 gallons, of which 3.5 gallons were unusable. According to the FAA Inspector, examination of the airplane wreckage revealed a total of 1.5 gallons of fuel on board.