Probable cause
The pilot's mismanagement of the fuel supply, which resulted in fuel exhaustion.
NTSB analysis
The pilot stated that he was nearing the end of a 349-mile flight. When he was 3.5 miles from the destination airport, at 2,300 feet mean sea level, the engine began to sputter and then quit. The pilot was over a residential neighborhood and realized the airplane was not going to make it to the airport. He turned the airplane right toward a dry river bed; however, the airplane collided with a tree, then impacted terrain, and flipped over. The pilot said it was likely that he had exhausted his fuel supply.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR12CA370 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Aug 26, 2012
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Madera, California
- Nearest airport
- Madera Municipal Airport (KMAE)
- Highest injury
- Minor
- Minor injuries
- 1
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Dusk
Cessna 150G
- N-number
- N6346S
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 91 (general aviation)
- Purpose of flight
- Personal
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.