NTSB MIA91LA094 — 1991-03-09 · GREENWOOD, Mississippi, United States

Aircraft involved

N2949J Cessna 150G Minor

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE STUDENT PILOT TO ABORT THE FLIGHT WHEN ONE OF THE TWO FUEL QUANTITY INDICATORS BECAME INOPERATIVE DURING THE FIRST LEG OF THE FLIGHT. ALSO, INACCURATE FUEL CONSUMPTION CALCULATIONS, POOR PREFLIGHT PLANNING, AND POOR SUPERVISION BY THE CFI WHO REVIEWED THE STUDENT'S PREFLIGHT PLANNING AND PREPARATION FOR THE CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT.

Factual narrative

DURING THE RETURN FLT OF A THREE LEG SOLO CROSS-COUNTRY FLT, THE ENG QUIT DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION WHEN THE FLT WAS ABOUT 5 NM SOUTH OF THE DESTINATION ARPT. ATTEMPTS TO RESTART WERE UNSUCCESSFUL. THE PLT LANDED THE ACFT IN A PASTURE & COLLIDED WITH TREES. EXAM OF THE ACFT AT THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THAT THE FUEL TANKS WERE NOT DAMAGED. THE FUEL TANKS, GASCOLATOR, & CARB BOWL WERE DRAINED WHICH REVEALED THAT THE ACFT CONTAINED LESS THAN 3 GALS OF FUEL. ACCORDING TO THE OWNER'S MANUAL, THE TOTAL FUEL QUANTITY IS 26 GALS; OF WHICH 22.5 IS USABLE. THE PLT FURTHER STATED THAT ABOUT 1 HR INTO THE FIRST LEG OF THE FLT, ONE OF THE FUEL QUANTITY INDICATORS INDICATED EMPTY ALTHOUGH THE TANK WAS FILLED PRIOR TO DEPARTURE. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1991_MIA91LA094.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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