Flight Details
A student pilot with 70 hours of flight experience was returning from a night cross-country flight. As he approached his home base airport, the airport went IFR (Instrument Flight Rules), prompting him to divert to an alternate airport where the tower was closed.
Divert and Descent
While descending in a 360-degree turn to lose altitude, the engine quit. The pilot switched fuel tanks and turned on the boost pump, which resulted in a brief engine restart. Shortly after, the engine quit again. The pilot switched tanks again but could not restart the engine.
Engine Failure and Collision
Unable to reach the airport, the pilot descended into an unlighted spot in a residential area with the landing gear down and approach flaps set. The airplane collided with trees and came to rest in a residential backyard.
Fuel Discrepancy
According to the pilot's computer-generated flight plan, there should have been 12.7 gallons of usable fuel remaining between the two stock fuel tanks. However, the electronic fuel computer's non-volatile memory indicated 15.5 gallons remaining. At the accident scene, there were minimal signs of fuel remaining.
Additional Information
The student pilot had not been endorsed for the cross-country flight.