Flight Details
In a telephone interview, the pilot stated that he departed Henderson, Nevada, at approximately 1230 for a local flight. He estimated that the airplane had 15 to 18 gallons of fuel at takeoff. No records indicated that the aircraft had been refueled prior to the flight.
Sequence of Events
The pilot practiced flight maneuvers and performed three wheel landings at a nearby dry lake bed before landing at Jean, Nevada, airport for a 20-minute rest stop. He did not refuel at Jean, which had fuel service available. During the return flight to Henderson, the engine slowed and stopped about 3 miles from the airport. The pilot attempted a restart, and the engine ran for about one minute before stopping again. This led to a forced landing in rough desert terrain approximately 1 mile short of the airport. The pilot reported the accident occurred at 1400, indicating a flight time of 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Fuel Information
According to the owner’s manual, the maximum fuel consumption at sea level with the mixture leaned is 12.5 gallons per hour. At a cruise altitude of 5,000 feet with the mixture leaned, fuel consumption is 9.6 gallons per hour. The airplane holds 42 gallons of fuel in two wing tanks, of which 37 gallons are usable. The remaining approximately 5 gallons are unusable fuel (2.5 gallons per wing tank). Based on the pilot’s estimate of 15 to 18 gallons at departure, the initial usable fuel would have been about 10 to 13 gallons.