Cessna 150 accident near Raleigh, North Carolina, February 23, 1997
On February 23, 1997 at about 8:45 pm local time, a Cessna 150, registered N714JY, was substantially damaged in an accident near Raleigh, North Carolina. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
a loose fuel capd and siphoning of fuel, resulting in fuel exhaustion and a loss of engine power. A factor was the rough terrain in the forced landing field that resulted in the nose over during the landing roll.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 1997 · about 8:45 pm local time
- Place
- Raleigh, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N714JY · no longer on the register · serial 15079222
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot had flown a cross-country flight, landed, and refueled. He continued the cross-country flight with an en route landing, taxi back, and takeoff at another field. Following that landing and takeoff, he continued to an intermediate destination, where the engine was shut down for about 40 minutes. Afterwards, he continued to his home airport. About five miles from the home airport, the engine quit operating. The student landed in a rough field, and the airplane nosed over during the forced landing roll. Postaccident calculations indicated there should have been sufficient fuel to complete the flight. The owner reported that when the airplane was retrieved, a large blue fuel stain was present on the top of the left wing, and about one gallon of fuel was drained from the airplane.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 20 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ISO Kinston NC at 8:30 pm
- Destination: 5W5
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 41°F (5°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:51 pm from RDU, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.