The pilot reported that, 15 minutes into a cross-country flight, the Cessna 152’s engine lost rpm. He added power, and the engine regained rpm briefly before losing all power.
He selected a dirt road near Panama City, Florida, for an emergency landing, during which the nose landing gear touched down on a soft surface, and the airplane nosed over.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and right wings and the front windshield.
The pilot reported that the plane had 4.5 gallons of fuel on board at the last takeoff.
An FAA inspector reported that, during postaccident examination of the airplane, the fuel tanks were found empty. The gascolator had residual fuel, and about 1 gallon of fuel was removed from the fuselage fuel drain.
He added that, according to the manufacturer’s specifications, the airplane should have had 1.5 gallons of unusable fuel.
He turned on the airplane’s master power switch to view the fuel quantity gauge indications, and the left-wing tank gauge indicated between empty and a quarter full with no fuel in the tank, and the right-wing fuel tank gauge indicated empty.
Probable cause: The pilot’s improper preflight fuel planning, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent total loss of engine power.
NTSB Identification: GAA18CA419
This June 2018 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.
One more reason why our passion gets a bad rap by folks that just don’t get what we love to do. Check your fuel
Some folks just don’t have enough attention to detail to pilot an aeroplane. I never take off without tab fuel or full tanks depending on the task at hand. One reads about this happening time after time!! I never trust a instrument or guage for fuel. If one doesn’t have the money to fly, then they should stay home.
Running out of fuel is not a lack of attention to detail. It is outright lazy irresponsibility and malicious in many cases. Fuel is one of the few things that CAN and MUST be controlled. If you play the game of chicken with fuel then you should not be allowed to fly and aircraft.
As the saying goes.. “and these people vote”.