N89648

On August 14, 1998, at 2130 central daylight time, a Cessna 152, N89648, received substantial damage on impact with terrain during a forced landing into an agricultural field near Beecher, Illinois. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot and passenger reported no injuries. The flight departed the Greater Kankakee Airport near Kankakee, Illinois, at 2105, and was returning to Lansing Municipal Airport near Lansing, Illinois.

In an interview, the pilot stated that he had departed Lansing Municipal Airport, at approximately 1830, en route to Coles County Memorial Airport near Matoon, Illinois. During that leg of the flight, the pilot reported that the aircraft radios were intermittent and eventually "went out" between Kankakee, Illinois and Champaign, Illinois. To avoid transiting Class C airspace, the pilot stated that he diverted the University of Illinois-Willard Airport's airspace near Champaign, Illinois and arrived at Coles County Airport at approximately 1945. No fuel was obtained and the pilot departed at 2020 or 2030, according to the pilot's statement, to return to Lansing Municipal Airport. During the return, the pilot stated that he diverted the University of Illinois-Willard Airport's Class C airspace toward the east. The pilot then reported that he had landed at Greater Kankakee Airport to obtain fuel but the fuel services at the airport were closed. The pilot then departed at approximately 2105 to complete his return to Lansing Municipal Airport when the engine quit at which point the pilot then executed a forced landing into a field.

Examination of the fuel tanks by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) revealed no fuel to be present in either tank.

The pilot had logged a total of 150 hours, 6 hours of which were in the previous 90 days. Examination of the pilot's logbook revealed that the pilot received a biennial flight review (BFR), in a Cessna 172, on June 17, 1998. The BFR was a local flight lasting 0.9 hours of flight time with one landing logged. Federal Aviation Regulation 61.56 Flight Review states, "... a flight review consists of a minimum of 1 hour of flight training and 1 hour of ground training. "BFR-stalls, steep turns, emergencies, turns, rudder usage", along with the commercial flight instructor's signature, was entered under the remarks section of the BFR entry.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) did not receive NTSB form 6120.1/2, Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report from the pilot.