What happened
During the course of an air taxi flight, the pilot transmitted a distress call indicating that the airplane had exhausted its fuel supply. The pilot subsequently executed an emergency landing on a nearby golf course. Upon inspection of the wreckage, investigators determined that less than one gallon of fuel remained in the system.
The incident occurred while the aircraft was making an unplanned return trip to pick up passengers. This deviation from the original plan was necessitated by a cancelled business meeting. Additionally, there was a change in the pilot in command during this return leg of the journey.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage and drained the fuel tanks to determine the quantity of remaining fuel. They found that less than one gallon was present. The investigation noted that the fuel quantity had been thought to be sufficient for the flight at the time of departure, despite the unplanned nature of the return trip.
Findings
The primary factor contributing to the incident was the exhaustion of the fuel supply during flight. This occurred in the context of an unplanned operational change where the aircraft returned to a previous location to pick up passengers due to a cancelled business meeting. A change in pilot in command also took place during this return flight.