What happened
On March 29, 2009, a Cessna 150K, registration PR-VOO, was performing its third local flight of the day from the Pará de Minas aerodrome. Approximately 15 minutes into the flight, while overflying the northwestern sector of the airfield, the engine began to lose power. The pilot was forced to perform an emergency landing in an unprepared area at Fazenda Boró.
During the descent, the aircraft struck the treetops of a dry tree at an altitude of approximately 8 meters. The impact caused the aircraft to travel 41 meters through the air, striking a barbed-wire fence before contacting the ground and rolling over. The aircraft sustained severe damage to the fuselage, engine, and wings, with the propeller and nose gear being destroyed. The pilot and one passenger sustained minor injuries and were able to evacuate the aircraft on their own.
The investigation
CENIPA's investigation focused on the fuel state and operational procedures of the Aeroclube de Parకి de Minas. Investigators found that while the aircraft had been refueled with 50 liters of aviation gasoline on the day of the accident, there was no record of a previous refueling that had occurred on March 26. During the post-accident inspection, approximately 4 liters of fuel were found in the left wing tank, but the right wing tank was empty, and no fuel was found in the carburetor bowl.
The investigation revealed that the club's pilots were using an incorrect fuel consumption estimate of 20 liters per hour for planning purposes. In reality, the actual consumption during takeoff and climb—utilizing full power and rich mixture—was significantly higher. Furthermore, the pilot did not personally verify the fuel levels, relying instead on information passed from a previous pilot.
Findings
- Fuel exhaustion was the determining active failure of the accident.
- Inadequate instruction regarding aircraft performance led to a widespread belief among pilots that the fuel consumption for the Cessna 150K was only 20 l/h.
- The pilot's judgment was compromised by this erroneous premise, leading to a failure to personally verify the fuel quantity in the tanks.
- A lack of standardized refueling and fuel planning procedures at the flight club contributed to the error.
- The pilot's decision-making regarding the emergency landing site was delayed due to verbal interference from the passenger, which aggravated the consequences of the engine failure.