What happened
A Piper PA-23-160 sustained substantial damage after landing approximately a half mile short of the runway at Burley, Idaho. The incident occurred while the pilot was on his second approach following a completed go-around. The flight originated from St. George, Utah.
At the time of the event, the aircraft had been in the air for less than 3.5 hours. While the airway distance for the flight was 388 nautical miles (or 320 nautical miles direct), the engines lost power during the approach phase.
The investigation
FAA inspectors examined the aircraft to determine the cause of the simultaneous loss of power in both engines. The investigation found that the engines suffered from fuel exhaustion.
Records indicated the aircraft had been fueled with a total of 72 gallons prior to departure, and the normal cruise fuel consumption for the aircraft is 16 gallons per hour. Although the engines ran out of fuel, investigators were unable to determine why the fuel consumption was excessive during this flight.