Accident to the Cessna 150L registered F-HTFS on 03/07/2024 at Vern-sur-Seiche

The parents of the passenger had purchased a “light instruction flight” from an e-commerce site. The director of the DTO proposed this flight to the pilot. The latter accepted and scheduled it on his midday break. He prepared a circular cross-country flight of about one hour departing from Rennes - Saint-Jacques and bringing them overhead Mont-Saint-Michel. He prepared and undertook the flight as an introductory flight.  

During the flight preparation, the pilot estimated that the quantity of on-board fuel was 34 l which corresponds to a usable quantity of 20.8 l. He taxied to the station to refuel but having forgotten his card, he returned to the DTO parking. Once back there, he observed that the passenger had arrived and changed his mind; he thus undertook the flight without refuelling and aware that he did not have the regulatory fuel reserve.

After a flight time of one hour and four minutes and several episodes of engine misfires which led to the pilot intermittently activating the carburettor heat system, the engine shut down. This flight time corresponds to an effective consumption of around 19.5 l without taking into account the fuel consumed when taxing back and forth between the parking and refuelling station nor the overconsumption linked to the repeated use of the carburettor heat system during the flight.

The pilot then carried out a forced off-field landing. During the run, the aeroplane overturned. The pilot and passenger, uninjured, evacuated the aeroplane.