Accident Overview
A single-engine airplane departed its home base, flew to another airport, and was returning home when the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot reported that he had taken off originally with full fuel tanks and had not refueled during the en route stop.
Pilot Actions
The pilot stated that he had the fuel selector positioned to the right tank, but he noticed that both the left and right fuel gauges indicated decreasing amounts of fuel. The right fuel gauge dropped to 'empty' and the engine suddenly quit. He then switched the fuel selector to the left tank, turned on the boost pump, and the engine restarted. However, the engine quit again as he was over a group of mountains.
Forced Landing
The pilot was high and fast during the forced landing to a road and collided with an embankment.
Fuel Management and Inspection
The airplane had been topped off with fuel two weeks prior to the accident, but the pilot did not remember if he had flown the airplane in that two-week period; he did not maintain any type of pilot logbook or flight record. He thought that the fuel strainer valve had been stuck in the open position, allowing the fuel to drain out. According to Cessna, fuel cannot be used from both fuel tanks simultaneously, and if the fuel strainer had been stuck open, fuel would drain out only from the tank selected on the fuel selector valve.
Post-Accident Examination
The airplane and engine were examined by an FAA inspector, with no mechanical discrepancies found. The pilot reported that he had not experienced any mechanical problems prior to the accident.