N66172

On December 26, 1995, at 1430 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 150 M, N66172, nosed over during a precautionary landing at Quartzsite, Arizona. The aircraft was substantially damaged; however, the student pilot was not injured. The flight was operating on a VFR flight plan and had departed Ryan Airport at Tucson, Arizona at 1142 hours. The intended destination was Blythe, California. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.

The operator told the NTSB investigator that the student pilot was on his solo long cross-country flight and became anxious when the aircraft's fuel quantity reached the 1/4 level. The pilot observed a private airport at Quartzsite and elected to make a precautionary landing. The aircraft landed to the south on the 2,000-foot-long dirt airstrip and touched down about 500 feet beyond the threshold. It then veered off the 75-foot-wide runway to the left, struck a 3-foot-high dirt pile and a small tree, and nosed over. The aircraft came to rest inverted on the east side of the runway, about 800 feet from the threshold.

The surface wind at Blythe, 28 miles southwest of Quartzsite, was from 010 degrees at 9 knots. The pilot reported that the surface wind at the accident location was calm.