NTSB Factual Report

On April 5, 2007, at 1210 central daylight time, a Cessna 150F, N7893F, collided with a street sign and a ditch during a forced landing on a road in Grain Valley, Missouri, following a loss of engine power. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal local flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight originated from the Grain Valley - East Kansas City Airport (3GV), Grain Valley, Missouri, at 1110.

The pilot reported he topped the airplane off with fuel on the day prior to the accident after which he made a 30-minute flight. He stated that on the day of the accident he checked the fuel by looking in the fuel tanks and by measuring the fuel quantity. The pilot indicated he had approximately 20 gallons of fuel prior to the accident flight, which was 1 hour in duration.

The pilot reported that at the conclusion of the local flight, he was returning to land at 3GV when the accident occurred. He reported he had made the turn from base to final approach for runway 09 when the engine lost power. The pilot reported he tried to restart the engine to no avail. He determined that he was not able to glide to the runway so he elected to land on a nearby road. During the landing roll the right wing tip collided with a road sign. The airplane then veered into a ditch and nosed over.

The fuel capacity for the airplane is a total of 26 gallons of which approximately 3 ½ gallons are unusable. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who was on-scene shortly after the accident and personnel who recovered the wreckage, there was no evidence of fuel leakage from the airplane when it was inverted on the ground. Fuel was noted to be leaking from the doorpost area when the airplane was being moved upright.

During the post accident inspection of the airplane it was discovered that a headliner support tube had been rubbing on the right tank fuel line located in the top of the cockpit area. There was a hole visible in the fuel line. This area of the cockpit roof had also sustained crush damage as a result of the airplane flipping inverted during the accident sequence. There were no visible signs that fuel had been leaking from the hole, prior to the accident, nor did the pilot report having noticed an odor of fuel in the cockpit.

During the post accident inspection, the airplane was turned upright and the master switch was turned on. It was noted the right fuel quantity indicator showed that the tank was empty and the left quantity indicator showed the left tank contained one-quarter tank of fuel. A total of 2 ½ gallons of fuel were drained from the airplane following the accident. The fuel quantity indicators were checked again and both indicated empty. Five gallons of fuel were then added to each fuel tank after which time the fuel quantity indicators both indicated one-quarter tank. The hole in the fuel line was patched and the engine was started and ran without interruption.

It was noted that non-vented fuel caps were installed on the airplane. Vented fuel caps were required to be installed per FAA Airworthiness Directive 79-10-14 R1, Amendment 39-5901.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to assure an adequate fuel supply which resulted in fuel exhaustion. Factors associated with the accident were the street sign which was contacted, the pilot's inability to maintain directional control of the airplane and the ditch which was contacted.