The pilot was relocating the recently-purchased Cessna 150J, departing on the three-hour flight with full fuel tanks, which provided an endurance of about five hours.
During the descent to the airport in Bixby, Oklahoma, he advanced the mixture control to full rich, applied carburetor heat, and began to retard the throttle. The engine then suddenly experienced a total loss of power.
He restarted the engine multiple times, but the engine would not sustain power.
He conducted a forced landing to a road, during which the plane hit a sign, resulting in substantial damage.
A post-accident examination revealed that the wings had been removed for transport, and an unquantified amount of fuel was drained from the fuel tanks. The gascolator contained two to three ounces of fuel.
The fuel line to the carburetor was removed and no fuel residue was observed. The carburetor was disassembled and the bowl contained about one ounce of fuel.
The engine was rotated by hand and displayed continuity and compression throughout.
Although a compression test revealed that the Nos. 1 and 2 cylinders displayed low compression, the test was conducted on a cold engine, which was contrary to manufacturer guidance and could have provided unreliable readings.
No other anomalies were observed with the engine, and a definitive reason for the loss of power could not be determined.
Probable cause: A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined, as the fuel state of the airplane at the time of the accident could not be verified, and postaccident examination of the engine did not provide adequate information.
NTSB Identification: CEN16LA162
This April 2016 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.
Sometimes we over look the fact that not only full gas tanks
make an engine run . what about the mags?