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CHI89DET02

1988-12-22 · BENTON HARBOR, Michigan, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport BEH

Current FAA registration · N50331

Make / Model
CESSNA 150H
Year of manufacture
1968 · 20 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19680806
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A647F0

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

A MISJUDGED APPROACH DURING THE EXECUTION OF AN EMERGENCY LANDING RESULTING IN AN ENCOUNTER WITH UNSUITABLE TERRAIN. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS ARE INACCURATE FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS AND FUEL STARVATION DUE TO CONTAMINATION.

Factual narrative

A TOTAL LOSSS OF ENGINE POWER WAS EXPERIENCED DURING CRUISE FLT AT 2,500 FT. THE PLT ATTEMPTED AND EMERGENCY LANDING IN OPEN FIELD BUT STRUCK SEVERAL SMALL TREES SHORT OF POINT OF INTENDED LANDING. TREE IMPACT SHEARED THE NOSE GEAR AND THE ACFT IMPACTED LEFT WING DOWN IN AN OPEN FIELD. POST ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED NO FUEL IN RIGHT TANK, AND 7/8 INCH OF FUEL IN LEFT TANK. A FUEL SAMPLE FROM THE LEFT TANK SUMP CONTAINED WATER AND DIRT. A CARBURETOR SAMPLE CONTAINED WATER AND DIRT. THE PLT STATED THAT HE KNEW HE WAS GETTING LOW ON FUEL AND HAD PLANNED TO REFUEL AT ROSS FIELD, WHICH WAS 3 MILES FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_CHI89DET02.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel starvation). All research papers