Cessna 150L accident near Buffalo Grove, Illinois, May 8, 2005
On May 8, 2005 at about 4:00 am local time, a Cessna 150L, registered N11239, was substantially damaged in an accident near Buffalo Grove, Illinois (Palwaukee Municipal airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion during approach, inadequate preflight planning/preparation by the certified flight instruction (CFI), and the unsuitable terrain encountered by the CFI during the forced landing. An additional cause was the improper training of the CFI by the company. Contributing factors were the lack of familiarity with the airplane by the CFI and the night light conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 8, 2005 · about 4:00 am local time
- Place
- Buffalo Grove, Illinois · Palwaukee Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150L · all 150Ls on the register
- Registration
- N11239 · no longer on the register · serial 15075273
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was operated from the destination airport by a company providing airplane instructional and rental services. The airplane was piloted by a certified flight instructor (CFI) with a student pilot, who were returning with other company airplanes and instructors from a cross country flight to a casino. The airplane was on a night visual approach to the destination airport when the CFI executed a forced landing on a small dark area in a residential area following a total loss of engine power. The CFI reported to local law enforcement that the airplane ran out of gas. The CFI stated that he did not lean the mixture for the flight. Examination of the airplane revealed no usable fuel aboard, and the mixture control was in the full rich position. The student pilot stated that during the return flight the power setting was at a full setting at an altitude of 3,500 feet mean sea level. The CFI stated that he began his employment with the operator about one month prior to the accident following a company checkout in a different make and model. The CFI provided flight instruction in the accident airplane make and model upon his hire to student pilots without receiving company training and a checkout in the accident airplane make and model airplane. The CFI received a company checkout in an airplane make and model other than the accident airplane. The CFI stated that which he paid the costs associated with his company training which included airplane rental and company instructors. Following the accident, the CFI did not know under what conditions the airplane's fuel gauges would be accurate and did not know the accident airplane's maximum glide speed. The CFI did not know how to calculate a safe flight time or to make use of a dipstick to accurately determine fuel level as cited in an Federal Aviation Administration Accident Prevention Publication. The airplane engine was 613.7 hours past the engine manufacture's recommend time for a major engine overhaul of 1,800 hours.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 346 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 226 as pilot in command; 26 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: serious injuries
Dual student
- Flight time: 10 hours in all; 9 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,412.6 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 1, 2005; 3.7 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: DLL Baraboo WI at 4:00 am
- Destination: PWK Wheeling IL
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Wind: from 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.80 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 am from PWK, 5 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | 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.