Incident Overview
An airplane on an extended base leg experienced a total loss of engine power, leading to a crash just short of the approach end of Runway 31. The on-scene investigation revealed that the airplane's fuel tanks were empty.
Flight Details
The cross-country flight was planned from West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, to Hatteras, North Carolina, with a return to West Mifflin on the following day. The pilot stated that the total flying time for this cross-country trip, just prior to the engine quitting, was 6.25 hours.
Fuel Considerations
According to the pilot, he believed he had 90 gallons of fuel on board before starting the cross-country. The pilot also stated that the airplane's fuel quantity gauges indicated full tanks prior to departure from West Mifflin. Just before the engine lost power, the analog fuel quantity gauge indicated that the left fuel tank had a few gallons remaining and the right fuel tank contained approximately 10 to 12 gallons. Performance charts for the Cessna airplane showed that fuel consumption could have ranged from 12.5 to 16.1 gallons per hour.
Findings
The investigation determined that the airplane's fuel tanks were empty at the time of the crash. The mismatch between the pilot's fuel quantity estimate, the gauge readings, and the actual fuel remaining contributed to the fuel exhaustion.