MIA07LA014 · Cessna 150J

The pilot stated that he performed a preflight examination of the airplane, and during the examination he shook the airplane’s wings well, and sumped both fuel tanks until no evidence of water existed in the sample, adding, "you always get a few drops in a Cessna." He said he then opened the cowl access and drained the sump, which contained some water, so he emptied the jar and activated the drain again, this time obtaining a clean sample. He then used a small stool and checked both wing with the calibrated tube he had purchased for that purpose, and the tube showed that that there were 8 gallons in the right fuel tank, and 7 gallons in the left. After completing the pretakeoff items, the pilot affected a takeoff, with the intention of remaining in the pattern. While on left downwind, in the area of the end of the landing runway, the pilot said the engine backfired 2 or 3 times quickly as he retarded the throttle control to reduce power and make the approach. He said he did not think too much about it, because he thought he had possibly retarded the throttle control too quickly. While on final approach he was a bit too high, so the pilot said he pushed the throttle and carburetor heat controls full forward, and did a full power low pass over the runway. He said the engine was operating fine, and developed full power as he climbed out. While still climbing he turned crosswind, and then initiated the turn downwind. During the turn to left downwind, the pilot said the engine "back popped a few times and lost all power." The pilot said he avoided trees and tried to align with the runway to affect a forced landing, but the airplane was descending fast, and he touched down on a cross taxiway, at the end of the runway. During the landing rollout the nose-wheel dug into the soft dirt, and the airplane nosed over, incurring damage. An FAA inspector and a representative of Teledyne Continental Motors performed a postcrash examination of the aircraft. The examination revealed evidence of rust in the carburetor bowl and evidence of heavy corrosion in the bottom of the gascolator bowl, No anomalies were noted which would have precluded engine operation.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset