# NTSB SEA94LA053: Cessna 150, N7741E, Springfield, OR, January 30, 1994 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: January 29, 1994, 20:35 local (Jan 30, 1994, 04:35 UTC) - Place: Springfield, OR - Location: 44.0536° N, 122.9809° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Springfield, OR, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.0536&lon=-122.9809&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 2, 1994 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 41870 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA94LA053 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/41870/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA94LA053 ## Probable cause FUEL EXHAUSTION, AND THE PILOT'S POOR INFLIGHT DECISION. FACTORS INCLUDE THE PILOT'S POOR PRE-FLIGHT PLANNING, AND A SIGN IN THE PATH OF THE LANDING ROLL. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power(total) - nonmechanical, cruise - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - in-flight planning/decision - poor, pilot in command (cause) - preflight planning/preparation - poor, pilot in command (contributing factor) - Forced landing, descent - emergency - On ground/water collision with object, landing - roll - object - sign (contributing factor) ## Analysis DURING HIS PRE-FLIGHT PLANNING, THE PILOT DETERMINED THAT HIS TIME EN ROUTE WOULD BE THREE HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES. LATER COMPUTATIONS PERFORMED BY THE NTSB IIC FOUND THAT THE FLIGHT SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ABOUT 4.2 HOURS. WHILE ATTEMPTING THE NON-STOP FLIGHT FROM BOISE, IDAHO TO EUGENE, OREGON, THE PILOT BYPASSED AIRPORTS AT WHICH HE COULD HAVE REFUELED. HE THEN EXPERIENCED FUEL EXHAUSTION ABOUT 15 MILES SHORT OF HIS DESTINATION. AT THE TIME WHICH THE ENGINE LOST POWER, THE LEFT FUEL TANK READ JUST ABOVE EMPTY, AND THE RIGHT TANK READ ABOUT ONE-QUARTER FULL. ## Factual narrative On January 29, 1994, approximately 2035 Pacific standard time (PST), a Cessna 150, N7741E, collided with an object during the roll-out portion of a forced landing. The certified flight instructor was not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The personal pleasure flight, which departed Boise Air Terminal, Boise, Idaho, about 1730 mountain standard time (MST), was in visual meteorological conditions at the time of the accident. The pilot, who had filed a VFR flight plan en route to Eugene, Oregon, was on a multi-day flight in order to deliver the recently purchased aircraft to the new owner in Anchorage, Alaska. Although the pilot said his planned time en route was about three hours and thirty minutes, performance computations completed by the NTSB IIC showed that the flight should have taken about 4.2 hours. According to the pilot, about four hours into the flight, the aircraft lost power while it was still about 15 miles east of the intended destination. At that point, the aircraft's left fuel tank gauge was reading slightly above empty, and the right tank showed about one-quarter full. After the loss of power, the pilot attempted a forced landing on a nearby street, and impacted a stop sign during the landing roll. Inspection of the aircraft after the accident revealed that both fuel tanks were empty. Although there were airports located along the route about 100 miles east of the final destination, the pilot attempted to fly the entire route without refueling. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N7741E](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7741E-2013-08-13), registration cancelled 2013-08-13, S/N 17541, built 1959 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA 150 - Registry model: [Cessna 150](https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-150) (registry code 2071802) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 17541 - Airframe hours: 3944 - Engines: CONTINENTAL O-200-A 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Tobler International, Inc. - Registered owner: Tobler International, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, June 25, 1993 - Departed: BOI, BOISE, ID - Destination: EUG, EUGENE, OR - Flight plan: VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 29; commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine land, single-engine sea, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; flight hours: 830 total, 70 in this make and model, 730 as pilot in command, 15 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days, 7 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night/dark - Wind: 210° at 6 knots - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 34 °F - Altimeter: 30.00 inHg - Observed at: EUG, 15 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19940129001169A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19940129001169A), Jan 29, 1994: Cessna 150, Springfield, OR, Substantial damage. Lost power short of destination. Landed on city street. Struck a stop sign. Fuel tanks empty. Unaware fuel range. From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.