The private pilot was conducting a familiarization flight in the American Aviation AA-1A with the non-pilot-rated passenger, who had recently purchased the airplane.
They flew to a nearby airport to practice touch-and-go landings. After completing about 15 landings, they proceeded to another airport to get fuel.
About five minutes before reaching the airport, the passenger noticed that the fuel pressure gauge indicated 0 psi, but the engine was operating smoothly.
The pilot turned on the electric fuel boost pump and the fuel pressure gauge returned to 5 psi. The boost pump remained on for the remainder of the flight.
Upon arrival at the airport in Gainesville, Texas, a go-around was performed. The engine experienced a loss of power during the climb about 200′ above ground level, so he performed a forced landing to a field short of the runway.
Post-accident fuel consumption calculations revealed that the airplane likely contained about one gallon of fuel at the time of the accident, which would have been unusable.
Examination of the fuel tanks revealed less than one cup of fuel in the left tank and no fuel remaining in the right tank.
The fuel spill observed at the accident site by first responders was likely the one gallon of unusable fuel from the right tank, because the right wing was separated at the fuselage and its fuel line was fractured.
No anomalies were noted with the engine and the propeller blades did not show any rotational signatures.
Although the pilot reported he flew the airplane during the final approach and go-around, there were discrepancies in his statements that suggested that the non-pilot rated passenger was actually manipulating the airplane controls during the loss of engine power.
Probable cause: The pilot’s inadequate preflight and inflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and subsequent forced landing in a field. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s delayed action in taking control of the airplane following the loss of engine power.
NTSB Identification: CEN17LA105
This February 2017 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
It continues to baffle me why anyone runs out of fuel??
The passenger should sue the pilot for endangering his life.