Cessna 150F accident near Fife, Washington, February 24, 1998
On February 24, 1998 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Cessna 150F, registered N8794G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fife, Washington. 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 fracture separation of an exhaust valve head, followed by the total failure of the associated piston. A factor was the soft terrain at the location of the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 24, 1998 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Fife, Washington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Cessna 150F · all 150Fs on the register
- Registration
- N8794G · registry record · serial 15062894
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Subaru Legacy powered Cessna 150 experienced a partial loss of engine power about 30 minutes after takeoff. Soon thereafter, the engine lost all power, and the pilot executed a forced landing in a nearby field. Although the touchdown was successful, the nose gear dug into the soft terrain as the pilot applied brakes to stop short of an upcoming ditch. After the nose gear dug into the terrain, the aircraft flipped over onto its back. A teardown of the engine revealed that the head had fractured off one of the exhaust valves in the forward left cylinder, resulting in the destruction of the piston.
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: 800 hours in all; 650 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 800 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 1, 1997; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Subaru EJ22 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: S50 Auburn WA at 10:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°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.
Other NTSB records under N8794G the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.