Cessna 150K accident near Yorba Linda, California, July 29, 1998
On July 29, 1998 at about 2:53 am local time, a Cessna 150K, registered N6377G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Yorba Linda, California. It was an instructional 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
An oil starvation failure of the engine due to the mechanic's inadequate maintenance installation and quality control procedures, which resulted in a shop rag being inadvertently left inside the accessory case when the starter was changed 7 hours prior to the accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 29, 1998 · about 2:53 am local time
- Place
- Yorba Linda, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150K · all 150Ks on the register
- Registration
- N6377G · registry record · serial 15071877
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student was descending toward the destination airport when the engine began to run rough, then it quit altogether. The CFI took over and attempts to remedy the engine power loss were unsuccessful. During the subsequent forced landing on a city street, the aircraft collided with ground obstructions. Disassembly and examination of the engine revealed a shop rag inside the accessory case in the upper right quadrant just under the starter motor cover plate and entwined in the accessory gears. The oil suction screen was collapsed and heavily contaminated with cloth and lint fragments. The oil sump suction tube inlet was found completely plugged by rag fragments. Typical oil starvation failure signatures were noted to the internal crankshaft pins, rod ends, and bearings. The last entry in the engine logbook was dated July 16, 1998, 7 hours prior to the accident, and listed the removal and replacement of the starter.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,441 hours in all; 7,000 in this make and model; 111 in the last 90 days; 21 in the last 30 days; 9,200 as pilot in command; 8,309 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,642 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, June 1, 1998; 55 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FUL Fullerton CA at 1:30 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 am from FUL, 8 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.