What happened
On March 14, the pilot departed on a cross-country flight in a Cessna aircraft. During the second hour of the flight, the pilot began switching the fuel selector valve between the main tanks and the left and right wing-tip tanks at 20-minute intervals. Approximately two hours into the flight, the engine sputtered and stopped. Although the pilot attempted to restart the engine, it only ran for several seconds.
The pilot attempted to glide toward Alexander Municipal Airport but was forced to land approximately 250 feet short of runway 21. The impact caused substantial damage to both wings and the firewall, and all landing gear assemblies were separated from the aircraft. No injuries were reported.
Prior to this accident, the pilot had experienced two similar engine failures during flights on recent dates. During a flight following the purchase of the aircraft on March 11, 2003, the engine quit approximately two hours into the flight due to fuel exhaustion. After switching to the left wing-tip tank and restarting, the pilot discovered the left main fuel tank was dry while other tanks remained partially or fully filled. During a subsequent flight, the engine quit a second time after the pilot had switched between the wing-tip and main tanks.