Narrative:

I was the sole person on board. I had just purchased this aircraft and was not familiar with its unique flying characteristics. I conducted a full pre-flight inspection. In so doing; I verified that the aircraft had full fuel; which is about four hours of flying time; and found that its VHF radio was operative. The takeoff went as expected; with no issues. I [departed] VFR. After about 3 hours and fifteen minutes of flying; while on approach to ZZZ; my engine began to sputter. I immediately suspected induction icing due to temperature and visible moisture; but after an inflight check of my systems; I was unable to get the engine to run smoothly. Eventually the engine; completely died; and I was unable to restart it. After the engine died; I stabilized the airplane at the best rate of glide. I was not near any airports and was not flying very high. I spotted a hard surface roadway and landed the cessna 150 without any incident or damage to the airplane. It was decided that the aircraft should be towed to the nearest airport for mechanical assessment. I was not cited or arrested for landing on the highway. I believe that the cause of the engine failure was carburetor icing and low fuel. I had just purchased this cessna 150; and this was my first time flying [it] cross country. I verified that it had full fuel on board before departing and it should have been able to fly four hours on the full fuel; according to the poh. Later that day; the airplane was refueled; and I elected to depart and fly on to ZZZ. While I was enroute to ZZZ; I noticed that the ATC approach controllers were not responding to any of my radio ATC transmissions; but I could hear them speaking to me. I attempted to get the cessna's panel installed radio to work; but it would not. I had a handheld backup radio on board; but it also did not enable me to talk to ATC. Since I had previously experienced the issue with having the less than four hours of fuel available on full tanks; and I had been flying for over three hours by that time; I elected to land at ZZZ1. After landing; I was instructed to call the ATC tower; which I did once the airplane was safely on the ground. I was told that the ATC personnel believe I had committed a pilot deviation; however; I was taking reasonable steps to ensure the safety of my aircraft and myself as the sole occupant. Once at ZZZ; the airplane was taken to the FBO. It remains there now; awaiting repairs. I am a safe pilot; and the issues that I encountered presented challenges to my safety; which I correctly handled.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C150 pilot reported an off field landing due to loss of engine power. After refueling; the following flight experienced radio problems that resulted in landing without a clearance.

Narrative: I was the sole person on board. I had just purchased this aircraft and was not familiar with its unique flying characteristics. I conducted a full pre-flight inspection. In so doing; I verified that the aircraft had full fuel; which is about four hours of flying time; and found that its VHF radio was operative. The takeoff went as expected; with no issues. I [departed] VFR. After about 3 hours and fifteen minutes of flying; while on approach to ZZZ; my engine began to sputter. I immediately suspected induction icing due to temperature and visible moisture; but after an inflight check of my systems; I was unable to get the engine to run smoothly. Eventually the engine; completely died; and I was unable to restart it. After the engine died; I stabilized the airplane at the best rate of glide. I was not near any airports and was not flying very high. I spotted a hard surface roadway and landed the Cessna 150 without any incident or damage to the airplane. It was decided that the aircraft should be towed to the nearest airport for mechanical assessment. I was not cited or arrested for landing on the highway. I believe that the cause of the engine failure was carburetor icing and low fuel. I had just purchased this Cessna 150; and this was my first time flying [it] cross country. I verified that it had full fuel on board before departing and it should have been able to fly four hours on the full fuel; according to the POH. Later that day; the airplane was refueled; and I elected to depart and fly on to ZZZ. While I was enroute to ZZZ; I noticed that the ATC approach controllers were not responding to any of my radio ATC transmissions; but I could hear them speaking to me. I attempted to get the Cessna's panel installed radio to work; but it would not. I had a handheld backup radio on board; but it also did not enable me to talk to ATC. Since I had previously experienced the issue with having the less than four hours of fuel available on full tanks; and I had been flying for over three hours by that time; I elected to land at ZZZ1. After landing; I was instructed to call the ATC tower; which I did once the airplane was safely on the ground. I was told that the ATC personnel believe I had committed a pilot deviation; however; I was taking reasonable steps to ensure the safety of my aircraft and myself as the sole occupant. Once at ZZZ; the airplane was taken to the FBO. It remains there now; awaiting repairs. I am a safe pilot; and the issues that I encountered presented challenges to my safety; which I correctly handled.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.