Cessna 150F accident near Plant City, Florida, August 16, 1996
On August 16, 1996 at about 11:10 pm local time, a Cessna 150F, registered N7053F, was substantially damaged in an accident near Plant City, Florida (Plant City airport). 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
a loss of engine power due to fuel contamination, resulting in a forced landing, and subsequent nose over. A factor in this accident was an inadequate aircraft pre-flight
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 16, 1996 · about 11:10 pm local time
- Place
- Plant City, Florida · Plant City · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150F · all 150Fs on the register
- Registration
- N7053F · registry record · serial 15063653
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight had taken off from runway 9, and had climbed to an altitude of about 150 feet mean sea level, when the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot elected to make an off airport landing, turned the airplane to the left to clear trees, touched down in a field, and nosed over. Examination of the wreckage revealed that 2 ounces of fuel was drained from the gascolator, about 3/4 of an ounce of the fuel was water, and 1 ounce of water was drained from the carburetor bowl. The engine rotated freely and no discrepancies were found. In addition, this airplane had flown only 5 hours in the past 12 months, and had not been fueled, before this flight, since sometime in February 1996.
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: 165 hours in all; 122 in this make and model; 2 in the last 90 days; 140 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,497 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 7, 1996; 4 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 145° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.