Cessna 150L accident near Mountain Home, Texas, September 17, 2004
On September 17, 2004 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Cessna 150L, registered N11418, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mountain Home, Texas. 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 pilot's improper inflight planning which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A factor was the 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
- September 17, 2004 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Mountain Home, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150L · all 150Ls on the register
- Registration
- N11418 · no longer on the register · serial 15075405
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 375-hour private pilot, before leaving Kerrville Municipal Airport, asked the line crew to "top off" the fuel tanks. The line crew indicated they had filled both tanks, but the pilot did not visually check the fuel level before departure. On the return flight from Lampasas Airport, while near Mountain Home, Texas and at approximately 2,800 feet above ground level, the engine briefly ran rough and then lost power. The pilot observed that the fuel gages were "one needles width above empty", and attempted to restart the engine. When the engine failed to start, the pilot elected to land in a freshly planted field. The pilot touched down and the initial landing roll were uneventful, but the nose gear subsequently collapsed and the airplane nosed over coming to rest inverted. The fuel system and engine were examined after the wreckage was recovered to a secure location. The engine was successfully run for 30 minutes. No anomalies were found that could have prevented normal engine operation.
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
- Flight time: 375 hours in all; 375 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O 200 A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Kerrville Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: T28 Lampasas TX
- Destination: ERV Kerrville TX
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.