The pilot of the Cessna 150 reported he experienced a total loss of engine power and performed an uneventful forced landing to a road near Balsam Grove, N.C.
The reason for the engine failure was later attributed to a blocked fuel vent tube.
After landing, he added additional fuel to the airplane, conducted a normal engine run-up, and noted about 1,500 feet of straight roadway available to takeoff from.
He elected to depart from the road to the west, which was toward a valley. During the initial climb, the plane encountered a sudden crosswind, and struck tree branches, which resulted in substantial damage to the left outboard wing and right inboard horizontal stabilizer.
The pilot was able to continue the flight and landed at his destination without further incident.
He also reported that he did not experience any malfunctions or failures during the accident takeoff that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
The airplane had been operated for about 17 hours since its most recent annual inspection, which was performed about seven months before the accident.
Winds reported at an airport that was located about 20 miles northeast of the accident site, about the time of the accident, were from 140° at 7 knots.
Probable cause: The pilot’s decision to attempt an off-airport takeoff, and failure to maintain adequate clearance during the initial climb in crosswind conditions, which resulted in a collision with trees.
NTSB Identification: ERA15CA209
This May 2015 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
1) ‘I’d rather be lucky than good’.
2) ‘Luck runs out, ‘good’ doesn’t.’
3). I’d rather be lucky AND good.
I want to encourage all pilots to not attempt to do what this pilot did. Also, practice your crosswind landings.
The photos in the Docket of the damage to wing and the horizontal stabilizer are spooky. Damage sustained by the aircraft after it took off from the road was substantial. The aircraft had two issues, either of which that resulted in a forced landing on the road: The most obvious was the pilot had run the tank he was operating on dry (leaving 10 gallons in his other tank). Unknown to the pilot, the aircraft also had a plugged vent tube. The pilot was focused on the fuel problem, and did not discover the clogged vent tube until an A&P pointed it out after the accident. A very large amount of luck was involved in the flight from the road where the pilot made an emergency landing following multiple power loss events where he may have overflown other emergency fields, and his arrival at his home airstrip. In his report of the accident he failed to acknowledge the role of luck, and attributed his safe return to his home airstrip to his outstanding skills.
The Dean Emeritus of the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in a speech one said that the only place luck comes before work is in the dictionary. I’d say the same for piloting an aircraft. The only place luck comes before skill is in the dictionary.