What happened
The pilot had recently acquired the aircraft and commenced the initial leg of a cross-country flight. Prior to departure, the pilot calculated an estimated endurance of 4.9 hours for the journey. This calculation was reviewed and deemed adequate for the proposed flight plan by a certified flight instructor (CFI).
After flying for 4.2 hours of tachometer time, the aircraft experienced fuel exhaustion. Consequently, the pilot executed a forced landing approximately 21 miles short of the intended destination.
The investigation
An examination of the aircraft revealed that both the fuel gauges and the clock were inoperative at the time of the incident. These instrument failures prevented the pilot from accurately monitoring fuel quantity and elapsed flight time during the cruise portion of the flight.
Findings
The primary factors contributing to this accident included:
- The inoperative state of the aircraft's fuel gauges.
- The inoperative state of the aircraft's clock.
- fuel exhaustion resulting from the inability to accurately track fuel consumption and time en route.