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ERA11CA217

2011-03-26 · Hannawana Falls, New York, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport PTD

Current FAA registration · N8830G

Make / Model
CESSNA 150F
Year of manufacture
1966 · 45 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19660205
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S AC2B59

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's improper fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the Cessna 150F stated that he could not remember the exact date he last fueled his airplane, but recalled that it was completely fueled. He then flew about 2 hours during two uneventful flights. The airplane was not refueled and the pilot departed on the planned 1 hour 19 minute accident flight. The flight took longer than expected due to a headwind and the pilot also deviated over some clouds. During a cruise descent to the destination airport, the engine experienced a total loss of power and the pilot performed a forced landing to a road, about 4 miles south of the destination airport. During the landing, the left wing struck trees, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot added that the accident was "100 percent fuel exhaustion." The pilot stated that he could not remember the exact date he last fueled his airplane, but recalled that it was completely fueled. He then flew about 2 hours uneventfully. The airplane was not refueled and he departed on the planned 1 hour 19 minute flight. The flight took longer than expected due to a headwind and he said that he deviated over some clouds. During a cruise descent to the destination airport, the engine experienced a total loss of power and he performed a forced landing to a road, about 4 miles south of the destination airport. During the landing, the left wing struck trees, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot added that the accident was due to 100 percent fuel exhaustion. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ERA11CA217.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

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