Fuel Exhaustion During Initial Climb Leads to Forced Landing Attempt (N2468G)

Incident Overview During the initial climb after takeoff, the aircraft experienced a total power loss at approximately 200 feet above the trees. The student pilot was at the controls when the fuel exhaustion occurred. The certified flight instructor (CFI) immediately took control of the aircraft and attempted to turn 180 degrees to return to the downwind departure runway for a forced landing. The reported winds at the time were 310 degrees at 11 knots. However, the aircraft struck trees and made an uncontrolled descent to upsloping ground. ## Investigation Findings Records indicated that the aircraft had not been refueled and had flown 3.5 hours since the previous fueling. There was no evidence of fuel spillage from the ruptured right tank. Eight ounces of fuel were recovered from the intact left tank, which was the selected tank.