On 3 Jul 2009, a CESSNA 150 G operated by Craig Dennis Husch was involved in an aviation accident near Bloomington, IL. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The complete loss of engine power as a result of fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's inadequate preflight. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.
A pilot reported a half-tank fuel gauge reading before departure. About an hour later, the engine failed three miles from the airport. During a forced landing, the left wing struck a tree. Inspection found 1.5 gallons of fuel; the POH lists 3.5 gallons as unusable.
Accident Sequence
The pilot reported that prior to departure, he checked the fuel level by looking at the fuel gauge, which indicated about half a tank. Approximately one hour after departure, while beginning a descent to the destination airport, the engine quit when the airplane was about 3 miles from the airport. The pilot executed a forced landing to a road. During the approach to the road, the stall warning sounded as he attempted to clear some trees. He lowered the nose and flew under the trees, but the left wing struck a tree and the airplane impacted the ground.
Post-Accident Inspection
An inspection of the airplane revealed that there was about 1.5 gallons of fuel remaining in the tanks. The Pilot Operating Handbook for the airplane states that the unusable fuel capacity was 3.5 gallons.