Forced Landing After Engine Power Loss Near Destination (N1177M)

Preflight and Fueling Details Before departure, the pilot conducted a preflight inspection and checked the cockpit fuel gauges, which showed the tanks were approximately one-quarter to one-half full, or about 8 gallons per tank. The pilot did not visually inspect the fuel tanks because he did not have a method to measure the fuel. He then added 20 gallons, bringing the estimated total onboard to 36 gallons, which he calculated would provide about 4.5 hours of flight time. After fueling, the gauges read about three-quarters full in each tank. ## Flight and Engine Power Loss The pilot flew directly to his destination without performing en route fuel burn calculations. About 3 miles from the airport, the engine lost power. At that point, the fuel gauges indicated one-eighth full on the left side and one-quarter full on the right side. The pilot attempted to restart the engine but was unsuccessful and made a forced landing about one-half mile short of the runway. ## Post-Accident Examination Examination of the airplane showed that the left wing tank was completely empty and that one-eighth inch of fuel remained in the right wing tank. The fuel system was inspected, and no pre-impact anomalies were found. A test run of the engine on the airframe showed that it started without hesitation and ran continuously through various power settings. An accurate test of the fuel level transmitters and gauges could not be performed during the initial examination because they had been removed and retained by the operator. ## Pilot Experience The pilot had 124 hours of fixed-wing flight experience, including 9 hours in the make and model, and 691 hours in rotorcraft.