Introduction
During a personal cross-country flight, the aircraft experienced a loss of engine power. The pilot attempted to land on a road but struck a guy wire, causing the aircraft to crash inverted on the roadway.
Accident Details
According to the investigation, the aircraft came to rest inverted on the road after striking a guy wire during the landing attempt. A post-crash examination of the aircraft's fuel system revealed approximately 1.5 pints of fuel present. Despite the inverted position, there was no evidence of fuel leakage or spillage.
Pilot's Account
The pilot reported having flown the same route five times previously without incident. Two days before the accident, the pilot had serviced the aircraft to its full capacity of 40 gallons. However, prior to departing from Stone Mountain, Georgia, the pilot did not visually check the fuel quantity. The pilot acknowledged being 'too lax' in failing to conduct a visual fuel check before departure.
Fuel Examination
The investigation confirmed that the small amount of fuel remaining in the system—approximately 1.5 pints—was insufficient to sustain flight. The absence of fuel leakage indicated that the fuel exhaustion occurred prior to the accident sequence.
Conclusion
The accident resulted from fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's failure to verify fuel quantity before departure, as acknowledged by the pilot.