Cessna 150G accident near La Rose, Illinois, January 18, 2001
On January 18, 2001 at about 9:00 pm local time, a Cessna 150G, registered N6281S, was substantially damaged in an accident near La Rose, Illinois. It was a personal 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
the pilot's inadequate airplane preflight and the snow covered terrain. A factor was the fuel exhaustion.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 18, 2001 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- La Rose, Illinois · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150G · all 150Gs on the register
- Registration
- N6281S · no longer on the register · serial 15067081
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane sustained substantial damage during nose over encountered on a forced landing to a snow covered field, following an in-flight loss of engine power. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot stated, "In order to describe the circumstances leading up to this accident in chronological order we have to go back to the ending of my last flight. I have been flying this aircraft for the past nineteen years and the ending of every flight was a stop at the fuel pumps to top up the tanks." The pilot did not state that he looked in the fuel tanks during the airplane's preflight for the accident flight. He stated that he perceived that the fuel gauges indicated full. He said, "They are always full. ... My conclusion - Someone between my last flight and this, someone entered my hanger and removed 76% (17 gals) of the useable fuel from my airplane." The airplane's engine was test run at low power and it ran smoothly. Fuel was put in each tank and the fuel gauges indicated above empty. Fuel was found leaking from around the shaft of the fuel shut off valve.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 729 hours in all; 696 in this make and model; 4 in the last 90 days; 0 in the last 30 days; 648 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 26, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,484 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 28, 2000; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: VYS Peru IL at 8:40 pm
- Destination: C75 Lacon IL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
- Observation at 8:54 pm from PIA, 25 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.