Ownership guide
Cessna 150F
1,035 registered in the US, built from about 1965 to 1966, 2 seats, most with the Continental O-200. Its Airworthiness Directives, its engines', and what to check before buying one.
The fleet
- Registered in the US
- 1,035
- Built
- 1965 to 1966
- Half built by
- 1966
- Seats
- 2
- Engine type
- Piston
- Most common engine
- Continental O-200
Engines installed
- Continental O-200993 aircraft (96%) · 8 ADs, 0 with a repeat action
From the FAA aircraft registry, rebuilt daily. Years are those recorded on each registration.
Airworthiness Directives
26 current ADs name the 150F airframe, 1 with a repeat action; 4 more were superseded. Its engines carry 8 more. 6 equipment ADs name the model.
The ones that come back
ADs with a repeat action: an inspection or replacement at an interval, for as long as the AD applies. These are the airworthiness costs an owner keeps paying.
What gets reported
3 Service Difficulty Reports since 2016: a mechanic or operator files one when a part fails or is found defective.
Systems reported most
- Emergency Locator Beacon1
- Fuel Quantity Sensor1
- Ignition System1
Parts reported most
- Elt, false activation1
- Transmitter, defective1
- Magneto, none1
The latest reports
2022-08-08 · Fuel Quantity Sensor · Transmitter, defective
Test, test, test - ac landed short of runway after engine quit. ac had substantial damage no injuries. determined ac ran out of fuel due to faulty fuel guage. removed fuel quantity transmitter for functional testing. found two rub spots on float, reason for contact between float and tank appears to be misalignment of float arm. found contactor dimple had worn through. cause of fuel guage to
2021-10-17 · Ignition System · Magneto, none
Tookoff on runwawy all parameters were normal. airspeed, rate of climb, and oil pressure preformance check good. after passing between 1000 to 1200 feet, i saw the engine hesitated approximately 1 to 2 seconds. after that, the engine cut off. performed an emergency alnding in field. no injuries or damage. performed a visual inspection of riht magneto, found missing gear teeth on distributor. (foun
2021-02-07 · Emergency Locator Beacon · Elt, false activation
Elt activated without any load placed on aircraft at 3:21am,feb 5,2021 aircraft was in hangar having annual accomplished. work on aircraft stopped for the day at 4:30pm on feb 4,2021,the day prior. afcc tried to call owner at 3:30am feb5 but owner did not answer, local police department contacted owner at his home at 6:00am feb 5,2021, to let him know the elt was actified. owner contacted afcc a
From the FAA's Service Difficulty Reporting System, refreshed monthly. Counts of what was reported, not failure rates: most of general aviation reports voluntarily, and a busy training fleet reports more than a private one.
Accident record
58 accidents since 2008, 11 fatal (14 people killed in them, a midair counting both aircraft), 3 aircraft destroyed.
What happened
- Loss of control in flight10
- Fuel exhaustion8
- Loss of engine power (total)7
- Loss of control on ground7
- Loss of engine power (partial)4
- Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT)2
Phase of flight
- Enroute16
- Landing11
- Initial climb9
- Takeoff9
- Approach5
The latest
| Date | Where | What happened | Injuries | NTSB number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-08 | Weslaco, TX | Enroute: Fuel exhaustion | None | CEN26LA314 |
| 2025-12-20 | Temecula, CA | Enroute: Fuel exhaustion | None | WPR26LA065 |
| 2025-09-26 | Lake havasu city, AZ | Enroute: Loss of engine power (total) | Minor | WPR25LA305 |
| 2025-09-17 | Rigby, ID | Initial climb: Controlled flight into terrain or object (CFIT) | Minor | WPR25LA283 |
| 2025-06-28 | Tracy, CA | Takeoff: Flight control sys failure | None | WPR25LA195 |
| 2025-04-08 | Zeeland, MI | Approach: Loss of control in flight | None | CEN25LA147 |
From the NTSB's aviation accident database, refreshed monthly; accidents only, homebuilts left out. Counts, not rates: nobody publishes how many hours each model flies, and a training fleet flies far more than a private one. Look up any case by its number in the NTSB's CAROL.
What it costs to run
Per hour flown
Per year, flown or not
- Fuel
- $0/hr
- Engine reserve
- $0/hr
- A year
- $0
- All in, per hour
- $0/hr
Filled in for a Cessna 150F with the Continental O-200: a typical cruise fuel burn and the engine maker's published overhaul time. Everything else is yours to fill in: insurance, hangar and overhaul prices vary too much by pilot, airport and shop for a default to mean anything. Nothing you type leaves this page.
Before you buy one
- Run its N-number through the AD check: every AD that names its airframe and engine, as a checklist to take to the logbooks.
- For each repeat-action AD (1 on the airframe), find the last compliance in the logbooks and when the next one is due.
- Compare the engine's time since overhaul with its maker's published overhaul time, and look for the reason behind any long gap in flying.
- Ask the mechanic doing the pre-buy to look hard at the emergency locator beacon and for false activation elts: they are what gets reported most on this model.
- 6 equipment ADs name the 150F (a muffler, a seat belt, a display): find out which of that equipment is installed.
- Check the registration, the airworthiness certificate and the date of the last annual inspection.
- Work out the sales or use tax your state will charge with the aircraft tax calculator.
The rest of the 150 family
Questions
- How many Cessna 150Fs are registered in the US?
- 1,035, in the FAA aircraft registry.
- When was the Cessna 150F built?
- From about 1965 to 1966. Half of those registered today were built by 1966.
- What engine does the Cessna 150F have?
- Most have the Continental O-200 (96% of those registered).
- What are common problems with the Cessna 150F?
- In 3 Service Difficulty Reports filed with the FAA since 2016, the systems reported most were emergency locator beacon, fuel quantity sensor, ignition system, and the part most often reported was a false activation elt.
- How many accidents has the Cessna 150F had?
- 58 in the NTSB's database since 2008, 11 of them fatal. The most common defining event was loss of control in flight. These are counts, not rates: how many hours the fleet flew is not published.
- How many Airworthiness Directives does the Cessna 150F have?
- 26 current ADs name the 150F airframe, 1 of them with a repeat action, and 8 more name its engines. Whether each applies to one aircraft depends on its serial number and installed equipment.
Figures from the FAA aircraft registry and the FAA's Airworthiness Directives, rebuilt daily. An AD listed for a model is one to read; whether it applies to one aircraft depends on its serial number, equipment and records.