Background
The pilot calculated that with 48 gallons of fuel, he could complete the four-hour flight to Oshkosh with one hour of fuel to spare.
Flight
Upon arriving at a point 25 miles southwest of Oshkosh, the pilot received a request to descend 1,200 feet, a request to climb 1,200 feet, and numerous requests to change heading. He complied with these requests, which were necessary to integrate him into the traffic flow that was congested due to the annual EAA Fly-In.
Incident
During the flight, the engine began to fail due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot performed a forced landing, which substantially damaged the aircraft.
Aftermath
FAA personnel stated that if the pilot had warned them about his fuel state before the engine began to fail, they would have given him a more direct routing to the runway.