ATL87LA155

Factual narrative

THE CFI WAS GIVING INSTRUCTION TO A BEGINNING STUDENT. DURING PREFLIGHT HE NOTED THAT THE LT TANK FUEL GAUGE INDICATED 'FULL' WHILE THE RT TANK GAUGE INIDATED '1/2 FULL '. AFTER ABOUT 40 MINUTES OF FLYING THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH, DURING CLIMBOUT AFTER A PRACTICE T&G LDG. THE CFI LANDED THE ACFT, LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING WITH THE STUDENT HOLDING THE BRAKES, AND VISUALLY INSPECTED THE FUEL SUPPLY; HE OBSERVED A FUEL LEVEL ABOUT 'THREE INCHES IN DEPTH' IN BOTH TANKS. AFTER A RUN-UP, ANOTHER TAKEOFF WAS MADE. AT ABOUT 350 FT AGL, THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ROUGH AND LOST POWER ALTOGETHER. A LDG WAS SUBSEQUENTLY MADE STRAIGHT AHEAD INTO A FRESHLY-PLOWED FIELD WHERE THE ACFT NOSED OVER INVERTED. SUBSEQUENT CALCULATIONS INDICATED THAT ABOUT 3 GALLONS OF FUEL REMAINED ON BOARD AT THE TIME OF THE LAST TAKEOFF, ACCORDING TO THE CFI. TYPE CERTIFICATE DATA FOR THE 150H INDICATES THAT 3.5 GALS OF THE ACFT TOTAL FUEL CAPCITY IS UNUSABLE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12