Incident Details
A commercial pilot was operating the last leg of a Part 135 passenger flight after having flown for approximately 3 hours earlier that day. Prior to departure, the pilot expressed discomfort with the fuel gauge readings and discussed the issue with the chief pilot and operator. According to the pilot, the chief pilot did not inspect the gauges and instructed the pilot to proceed to Moab. The pilot was also informed that the aircraft's flaps did not retract completely.
Approximately 30 minutes into the flight, the engine lost power. A passenger aboard reported hearing the pilot radio that the aircraft was out of fuel and that he was initiating a forced landing. The pilot selected a dirt road in rough terrain, located about 5 miles southwest of the destination.
During the landing roll, the landing gear collapsed, and the right wing struck a tree. Another company pilot flew over the downed aircraft and coordinated rescue efforts.
Fuel Information
Before the aircraft was recovered, 6.1 gallons of fuel were drained from the fuel tanks. The aircraft flight manual stated that each of the two tanks contained 3 gallons of unusable fuel, totaling 6 gallons of unusable fuel.