Background
A certificated private pilot and a passenger departed a coastal airport for a night cross-country flight to South Lake Tahoe, California. The planned time en route was 3 hours.
Lost and Communications
Approximately 6 hours after the estimated departure time, the pilot contacted a flight service station, reporting that he was lost and flying on top of an overcast in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) with less than one hour of fuel remaining. Through communications efforts, radar contact with Seattle Center was established. The airplane was located about 110 miles west of the U.S. coastline and given radar vectors to return to the coast.
Fuel Exhaustion and Loss of Contact
About 15 minutes after radar contact was established, the pilot reported fuel exhaustion and indicated that no survival equipment was on board the airplane. Radar contact was lost when the airplane was approximately 70 miles west of the coastline.
Search and Presumed Outcome
A search failed to locate the airplane. The pilot and passenger are presumed to have received fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed.