Incident Narrative
At night, a pilot was conducting a business cross-country flight. While en route, the engine stopped operating approximately 8 miles from the intended destination airport. The pilot communicated this to the destination airport's control tower.
ATC Vectoring
The control tower provided vectors to the nearest airport, which was situated about 3 miles from the aircraft's location at the time of the engine failure. The airport was a grass strip.
Approach and Landing
The grass strip's runway lights were manually operated and were not illuminated. The pilot relied on his familiarity with the area to estimate the runway's location. The aircraft subsequently struck a fence during the landing attempt and came to rest at the end of the runway.
Post-Accident Examination
After the accident, investigators examined the aircraft. The fuel tanks were found to contain no usable fuel.