Accident Overview
A night cross-country visual flight rules (VFR) flight ended when the pilot reported fuel exhaustion after being airborne for 3 hours and 37 minutes. The airplane impacted a fence and trees 10 miles north of the destination airport. The pilot, who held an instrument rating, had reported to a local flight service station (FSS) that he was disoriented and had 10 minutes of fuel remaining. The FSS connected him with the Houston Air Route Traffic Control Center, which provided radar vectors to the nearest airport.
Flight Details
Approximately 10 minutes after the pilot's initial report, he stated that he had run out of fuel. Subsequently, the final radar return was received. Review of the radar track revealed that during the final 36 minutes of the flight, the airplane was not maintaining a constant altitude and had been making "S" turns, 360-degree turns, and at one point had flown past the destination airport.
Weather and Pilot Actions
Marginal visual meteorological conditions and patchy instrument meteorological conditions existed near the accident site and destination airport. There was no record of the pilot having received a weather briefing from a flight service station prior to or during the flight.
Aircraft Examination
An examination of the airplane confirmed the integrity of the fuel system. Further examination revealed that only unusable fuel was present in the fuel system. No anomalies were found with the airframe or engine that would have precluded operation of the airplane.