Flight Details
A flight departed White Plains, New York, en route to Marietta, Georgia. Strong head winds were forecast along the route. The flight plan indicated five and a half hours of fuel onboard at takeoff. After four hours and forty-six minutes of flight, the pilot reached the Foothills VOR (ODF) and decided to divert to Athens, Georgia, to obtain fuel.
Diversion Decision
The pilot did not obtain the Athens weather before making the diversion decision. Upon arrival, ceilings at the Athens airport were lower than the minimum descent altitude for the available approaches. Other airports within the remaining fuel range had visual flight rules (VFR) conditions at the time.
Approach Attempts
The pilot conducted an approach to the Athens airport, followed by an approach to another airport approximately 17 miles east of Athens. The pilot did not declare an emergency until after completing the missed approach at Athens. Subsequently, the pilot attempted to locate the Lawrenceville, Georgia, airport but was unable to see it, as the runway lights were out of service.
Fuel Exhaustion and Landing
The aircraft lost power due to fuel exhaustion and crash landed in the city of Lawrenceville, about three miles south of the airport.