Cessna 152 accident near Lake Charles, Louisiana, March 10, 2000
On March 10, 2000 at about 2:12 am local time, a Cessna 152, registered N68333, was substantially damaged in an accident near Lake Charles, Louisiana (Lake Charles Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to refuel the airplane which resulted in fuel exhaustion. Factors were the pilot's poor preflight planning, failure to lean the mixture in accordance with the POH, and lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 10, 2000 · about 2:12 am local time
- Place
- Lake Charles, Louisiana · Lake Charles Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 152 · all 152s on the register
- Registration
- N68333 · no longer on the register · serial 15282264
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot planned a 265 nautical mile flight that he thought would take about 3.1 hours. The airplane departed with both fuel tanks full, flew at 2,500 feet, and at a power setting of 2,300 rpm. The pilot did not lean the mixture during the flight. The airplane was descending through 1,000 feet, near the destination airport, when the engine rpm began increasing and decreasing. Subsequently, the engine lost total power and the pilot executed a forced landing to a field. During post-accident examination of the airplane, an FAA inspector drained 1.5 gallons of fuel from the left fuel tank and .05 gallons from the right fuel tank. Total fuel capacity was 26 gallons, of which 24.5 gallons were useable. Based on the performance charts in the POH for the C-152, and the altitude and power setting the pilot stated were used, the airplane would have had an endurance of 3.7 hours with a 45 minute reserve at 45% power. This endurance assumes leaning the mixture in cruise flight. According to the recording hour meter in the airplane, the duration of the flight was 3.7 hours. A friend of the pilot, who flew another C-152 on the same route, at the same altitude and power setting, landed his airplane at the destination successfully. A fuel receipt indicated that his airplane was fueled with 24.1 gallons of fuel. He reported that he leaned the mixture during cruise flight.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine sea; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 500 hours in all; 178 in this make and model; 7 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,409 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 21, 2000; 85 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,670 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-L2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FTW Fort Worth TX at 11:05 pm
- Destination: CWF
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 180° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 800 ft
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:21 am from LCH, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.