NASA

During an instructional pattern flight my student mistakenly did not switch tanks during the flight. Because of this we operated on one tank until that tank was empty, and the result was fuel starvation that caused engine failure.

Tower does a good job of warning everybody about wake turbulence, but I think pilots like myself have become complacent about the warnings, especially when we hear them so often and incidents like this one are so rare.

I immediately advised ATC because I realized I could not safely land the plane and was not sure I had full control with the envelope protection system engagement. After advising ATC I reverted to my training, prioritizing aviate, navigate, and communicate.

At 2,000 feet the engine sputtered and we lost fuel pressure and I noticed we had four gallons of fuel. I knew at this point we were losing fuel.

I caught myself thinking about how I am now 100% responsible for this landing and my instructor is no longer around to get me out of small mistakes that can turn into big ones. This sparked some fear in me as I approach the runway and clouded some of my decision-making skills.

This is an unairworthy aircraft with no working radios, transponder, or ELT. Because it had been sitting for so long, it has grown mold and has corrosion all over the wings and fuselage.

I planned a flight knowing that I had slightly more than 1/2 tanks full and balanced. I preflighted but failed to check the wing top tank caps.

During this climb the other aircraft flew directly under my wing at a shockingly close distance. Had I not been in an aircraft with excellent climb and maneuvering performance, it could have ended very badly.

While on final the engine trouble started again but this time it was much more severe.