The pilot reported that, while en route for the return flight home, the Cessna 182’s engine lost power. He maneuvered the airplane to an airport near St. Ignatius, Montana, for an emergency landing.
The airplane landed short of the runway, hit a fence, and came to rest in an irrigation ditch. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot was seriously injured in the crash.
The pilot stated that he relied on the fuel flow monitor gauge to determine fuel level and that the gauge was indicating that he had 15 gallons of fuel remaining at the time of the loss of engine power.
He further reported that the gauge apparently was not properly reset for the fuel level after coming out of recent maintenance or during his first flight following that maintenance and that the actual fuel quantity was less than expected for the accident flight.
He stated that there was a 15-gallon discrepancy and that the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s improper preflight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
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This October 2021 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.
I can tell you that about 16 years ago I made a flight with a 172 Cessna with 38 gallon fuel tanks from Tel Aviv to Larnaca in Cyprus , the distance is about 350 nautical miles round trip,there was no wind ,according to my calculation the fuel should be enough to make the round trip flight and I was supposed to be left with 30 minutes of fuel For the flight, I actually made a forced landing outside the field, unfortunately I still need 2 more minutes of flight to reach the runway, the landing was perfect without any damage to the plane or to me, the investigation it turned out that the fuel consumption tables in the airplane book were not changed when the engine was replaced, in practice the fuel consumption was extremely high Significantly more than I planned, although it is was not my fault, I had to retake many checks rides until I got my flight license back. I am a commercial pilot with over 3000 hours of flight experience, which is probably not enough in order not to find yourself without fuel in the air
Rami sadeh
My fuel flow gauge is amazingly accurate, but there’s a reason it is placarded not to rely on it. They can fail. Pilots can forget to reset them. Mechanics can drain fuel during maintenance. Handy? Yes. 100% believable? No, especially as the tanks get low.
I’m a low time, newbie pilot, so I’m still on the front side of the “excessively cautious” curve.
I always stick the tanks religiously, and plan for a 1 hour reserve, even though here in the mid-Atlantic there are always many airports in a comparatively short distance.
But shiff can happen. When I was still getting dual in preparation for my check ride, my instructor and I went out with plenty of fuel for the plan. Along the way we decided to do some extra things. We got so into the moment, we forgot about the fuel situation.
When we landed, I sticked the tanks again to measure actual (vs. theoretical) fuel consumption and… we wound up measuring 20 minutes left. My instructor’s face went blank. Mine was probably no different.
But making that mistake was a great lesson, since that inadvertent lesson I’ve been fanatical about the fuel situation.
As a FAASTeam Lead Rep I have conducted seminars on fuel management/
Mismanagement. Over the years, the statistics seem to stubbornly stay at about the same level. I concur there can be other causes but the vast majority come down to pushing the limit or failure to adequately plan or both. As GA pilots we just don’t seem to be able to “beat the devil” on this issue.
The fuel you left behind is of no use to you once you take off! I never missed a chance to refuel.
As far as insurance exclusions, what precipitates a crash that wasn’t something someone did or failed to do to the plane, or something someone was trying to make the plane do?
Get down to it and there’s nothing insurance would reasonably cover as being a pure accident.
Maybe if insurance companies would put a clause in every policy that they will not cover damage caused by fuel exhaustion accidents pilots would be more careful. I’m tired of having to pay higher insurance premiums because we have so many idiots in our ranks. It looks like it was a nice 182.
I generally concur. However, there are times when this could be a problem (short on fuel) out of the control of the pilot. And that becomes a real issue for how to write such an exclusion in the policy. For instance, running into unforecast weather and now being put into a hold…. You let ATC know you were short on fuel when you got vectored to that hold.
I can’t tell you how many times I have run into unforecast IMC while on an IFR flight plan. The airport where I intended to get fuel is now at minimums, where it had been above MVFR just 10 minutes earlier. That is why I carry more fuel than the regs call for.
C’mon man… You can’t blame fuel exhaustion on ATC!
Fuel exhaustion is pilot error. Since an airplane can not fix itself, everything that happens is pilot/human error. Think annual, maintenance.
Insurance companies would love this.
2 things;
1. the fuel gauges do read ’empty’ when there is no more usable fuel….so look at them.
2. stick the tanks and then reset the fuel totalizer…. assuming that the ‘K’ factor is correct ?.
So, more stupid pilot tricks.!