SEA07CA105
2007-04-18 · Shawnee, Oklahoma, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed
Airport SNL
Current FAA registration · N6251T
- Make / Model
- CESSNA 150E
- Engine
- CONT MOTOR 0-200 SERIES (100 hp)
- Seats / Engines
- 2 seats · 1 engine
- Last airworthiness date
- 19641107
- ADS-B equipped
- Yes — Mode-S A82B5D
Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).
Aircraft involved
Probable cause & findings
The pilot's inadequate inflight decision by failing to refuel while en route, resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of power. A factor was the tree.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that while descending through approximately 2,300 feet mean sea level, about 4.5 miles from his destination airport, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot stated that he began gliding toward the runway, but about 1.75 miles from the runway his altitude became "extremely low." The pilot further reported that due to highway traffic and housing in the area, he chose to land in a field. The pilot reported that after touching down in an easterly direction the airplane struck a tree with its left wing, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. The aircraft came to rest in an upright position facing northeast. A Federal Aviation Administration air safety inspector, who traveled to the accident site, reported that neither fuel tank was breached, and with the exception of the unusable fuel, both of the airplane's fuel tanks were void of any fuel. The pilot reported that while descending through approximately 2,300 feet mean sea level, about 4.5 miles from his destination airport, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot stated that he began gliding toward the runway, but about 1.75 miles from the runway his altitude became "extremely low." The pilot further reported that due to highway traffic and housing in the area, he chose to land in a field. The pilot reported that after touching down in an easterly direction the airplane struck a tree with its left wing, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. The aircraft came to rest in an upright position facing northeast. A Federal Aviation Administration air safety inspector, who traveled to the accident site, reported that neither fuel tank was breached, and with the exception of the unusable fuel, both of the airplane's fuel tanks were void of any fuel. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12
Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file
NTSB_2007_SEA07CA105.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.
- TallyAero Live Wire Aviation press
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Related research
Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (fuel exhaustion). All research papers
- AOPA Air Safety Institute 2023 · Safety advisor Safety Advisor: Fuel Awareness
AOPA Air Safety Institute safety advisor on preventing fuel-exhaustion and fuel-starvation accidents in general aviation. Covers pre-flight fuel planning, reserve requirements (14 CFR 91.151, 91.167),…
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Abstract U.S. Civil Rotorcraft Accidents, 1963 through 1997
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has recorded 8,436 rotorcraft accidents during the period mid - 1963 through the end of 1997.
- NASA NTRS 2019 · Contractor Report (CR) A study of carburetor/induction system icing in general aviation accidents
An assessment of the frequency and severity of carburetor/induction icing in general-aviation accidents was performed. The available literature and accident data from the National Transportation Safet…
- NASA NTRS 2018 · Other Parachuting to Safety
NASA's Langley Research Center awarded Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc., three Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts to research and develop a new, low cost, lightweight recovery system …