Cessna 150 accident near Springfield, Oregon, January 30, 1994
On January 30, 1994 at about 4:35 am local time, a Cessna 150, registered N7741E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Springfield, Oregon. 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
FUEL EXHAUSTION, AND THE PILOT'S POOR INFLIGHT DECISION. FACTORS INCLUDE THE PILOT'S POOR PRE-FLIGHT PLANNING, AND A SIGN IN THE PATH OF THE LANDING ROLL.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 30, 1994 · about 4:35 am local time
- Place
- Springfield, Oregon
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150 · all 150s on the register
- Registration
- N7741E · no longer on the register · serial 17541
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING HIS PRE-FLIGHT PLANNING, THE PILOT DETERMINED THAT HIS TIME EN ROUTE WOULD BE THREE HOURS AND THIRTY MINUTES. LATER COMPUTATIONS PERFORMED BY THE NTSB IIC FOUND THAT THE FLIGHT SHOULD HAVE TAKEN ABOUT 4.2 HOURS. WHILE ATTEMPTING THE NON-STOP FLIGHT FROM BOISE, IDAHO TO EUGENE, OREGON, THE PILOT BYPASSED AIRPORTS AT WHICH HE COULD HAVE REFUELED. HE THEN EXPERIENCED FUEL EXHAUSTION ABOUT 15 MILES SHORT OF HIS DESTINATION. AT THE TIME WHICH THE ENGINE LOST POWER, THE LEFT FUEL TANK READ JUST ABOVE EMPTY, AND THE RIGHT TANK READ ABOUT ONE-QUARTER FULL.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 830 hours in all; 70 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 730 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,944 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 25, 1993
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Tobler International, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: BOI Boise ID
- Destination: EUG Eugene OR
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 34°F (1°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 am from EUG, 15 miles away
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.