The pilot departed with 26 gallons of fuel. About 3.5 hours into the flight, he asked flight following where the closest airports were because he had become concerned that he was “near the fuel limit.”
During their exchange, the Cessna 150’s engine lost power. He declared an emergency, rocked the wings, applied full-rich mixture, and restarted the engine, “which worked for 15 seconds or less.”
He then conducted an emergency landing near the end of a road in Eldorado, Texas. The airplane bounced, veered left, hit a pipe, and the nose landing gear collapsed.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount.
The pilot reported there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable cause: The pilot’s improper preflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
NTSB Identification: GAA18CA514
This August 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.
And if the av gas pump doesn’t work, and yes I’ve had that happen to me more than once, you can always pour 10 gal of car gas in, don’t like to, but I also don’t like to crash!
Better to shutdown the engine glide from 10,500 to 3,000 +/- restart start and find a good highway or field. The last bit of fuel give you options.
My rule as the old saying goes:
There is never too much fuel unless you are on fire…Fuel = options ………….
No fuel No options
I tell my students to do me a favor once they pass their FAA checkride and get their certificate… I hope they never have an accident of incident …but if they do please make it an original one! …sad … nothing original about zero fuel accidents
Thanks for helping raise our insurance rates again!
Per the pilot’s report, he had a safe fuel stop planned. But he requested flight following, went up as high as 10,500 over the tops to maintain radar contact and VMC, and eventually overshot his fuel stop. So a good takeaway as always includes maintaining options.
“Eventually? Overshot.” The pilots comments sound like rationalization. … Any long cross country trip requires planning for Routing, weather, fuel, and alternates to each. This is learning the hard way. Fortunately he can still tell the story, but his comments suggest he has not Yet learned his mistake.
“This is learning the hard way”. That’s a good way to put it. Those were my comments in summary, not the pilots. Actually his comments in the Safety Recommendations runs through a pretty good list of mistakes made. And he indicated he hadn’t flown in a while but will be seeking training.
Here we go again. Running out of fuel is the dumbest reason for bending an airplane and/or ending your life.
3.5 hours into the flight in a C150 is not nearing the limit. You’re already there. At 2.5 hours into the flight he should have been on the ground getting more fuel. I estimate an average of 6 gal/hr fuel burn for most pilots in a 150. That’s an average, based on different leaning habits. At 22.5 useable, that’s 3.75 hours of flight time under the best conditions, but realistically 3.5, which this pilot found out the hard way.
I was trained to take 15 minutes more than the FAA recommended reserve for added safety. But I take it a step further and plan for a hour of reserve for each flight, regardless of make, model, or time of day. So at 2.5 hours of flying in my 150, I’m on the ground topping off the tanks.
Zero excuse for running out of fuel. The day VFR rule is 30 minues of fuel remaining at destination. It is IMPOSSIBLE to run out of fuel if you follow the rules. Those that do not should not be allowed to pilot an aircraft.
I know several people who still flight plan fuel by distance and not by time. It seems that they should have been taught better during ppl training.
yup.! 3.5 hours in a C150 and you’re out of gas.! No mystery there…
More stupid pilot tricks.
Pilots keep doing the same stupid things, and getting the same results.