N46974

Substantial
Minor

Cessna 152S/N: 15283154

Accident Details

Date
Sunday, August 10, 2008
NTSB Number
LAX08CA264
Location
Oceanside, CA
Event ID
20080904X01377
Coordinates
33.218055, -117.351387
Aircraft Damage
Substantial
Highest Injury
Minor
Fatalities
0
Serious Injuries
0
Minor Injuries
2
Uninjured
0
Total Aboard
2

Probable Cause and Findings

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion that was caused by the pilot's inadequate fuel consumption calculations and failure to refuel the airplane en route.

Aircraft Information

Registration
N46974
Make
CESSNA
Serial Number
15283154
Engine Type
Reciprocating
Year Built
1979
Model / ICAO
152C152
Aircraft Type
Fixed Wing Single Engine
No. of Engines
1

Registered Owner (Historical)

Name
LEAK GLENNA
Address
818 SW 3RD AVE # 1423
Status
Deregistered
City
PORTLAND
State / Zip Code
OR 97204-2405
Country
United States

Analysis

The pilot and pilot-rated passenger rented the airplane for a personal cross-country flight to build flight time. The trip consisted of a 261-nautical mile (nm) leg, a refueling stop, and a 271-nm leg. After completing the first leg, the airplane was refueled with 25 gallons of aviation fuel. During the second leg, as the airplane reached a position about 10 nm from the destination airport, the engine lost power. The pilot restarted the engine, and it ran for a few minutes before losing power again. The pilot was unfamiliar with the area and did not see the destination airport until the airplane was directly over the airport. He realized the airplane was "too high" and added full flaps and "started to side-slip the airplane to lose our excessive altitude." Initially, the pilot maneuvered the airplane for a landing on runway 06; however, he was still too high, so he executed a 180-degree turn and landed on runway 24. The airplane touched down near the end of the runway, overran the runway, and encountered an embankment. The right wing sustained structural damage. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) personnel examined the airplane and reported that the fuel tanks were intact, the left wing fuel tank was dry, and the right wing fuel tank contained about 0.5 gallons of fuel. The fuel capacity of the airplane was 26 gallons, with 24.5 gallons of usable fuel.

Data Source

Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# LAX08CA264