Cessna 150F accident near Friendly, Maryland, August 22, 2000
On August 22, 2000 at about 1:05 am local time, a Cessna 150F, registered N8709G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Friendly, Maryland. It was an instructional 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
The pilot's inability to locate the airport, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. A factor related to the accident was 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
- August 22, 2000 · about 1:05 am local time
- Place
- Friendly, Maryland · 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
- N8709G · no longer on the register · serial 15062809
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While on the last leg of a solo cross-country flight, the student pilot became disoriented and contacted air traffic control for assistance. The air traffic controller at vectored the airplane over the destination airport two times, but the student pilot could not visually identify the airport due to increasing darkness. After about 20 minutes of searching for the airport, the fuel supply was exhausted, and the engine quit. The student pilot conducted a forced landing to a road, where it struck a tree before coming to rest upright. Visual inspection of the airplane after the accident revealed no evidence of fuel in the airplanes wing tanks or at the accident site.
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: student
- Flight time: 30 hours in all; 30 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 26, 2000
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-200 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Aviation Adventures
The flight
- Departed from: SBY Salsbury MD
- Destination: VKX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 130° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.