Fuel-Exhaustion Incident Ends in Uninjured Field Landing (N86182)

Flight Progression and Fuel Estimation The pilot calculated the distance to the destination as 201 nautical miles and estimated 2 hours of fuel in the main tanks at takeoff. Twelve minutes after departure, the aircraft leveled off at 13,500 feet MSL. The Global Positioning System indicated a groundspeed of 190 knots, with the destination airport 59 minutes away. Based on these readings, the pilot assumed close to 1 3/4 hours of fuel remained and elected to proceed directly to the destination without stopping to refuel. ## Engine Failures and Forced Landing At 80 nautical miles from the destination, the pilot began a descent from 8,000 feet MSL. Sixty nautical miles northwest of the airport, the pilot noted that the right main fuel gauge, which feeds the rear engine, seemed to read lower than usual. The pilot switched to the right auxiliary tank, but two to three minutes later, the rear engine began to cough. The pilot then switched back to the right main tank. Approximately 20 nautical miles from the destination, the front engine began to fail from lack of fuel. The pilot attempted to crossfeed the front engine to the right main tank as the engine started to quit. Unable to keep the front engine running, the pilot feathered the front propeller. As the pilot was about to make a radio call on the airport's Unicom frequency, the rear engine began to fail from lack of fuel. The pilot feathered the rear propeller, retracted the flaps, reduced airspeed, and began looking for a forced landing site. The right-seat passenger began to manually pump the gear down, but the pilot decided there was no suitable road within gliding range and elected to make a wheels-up landing in a field. ## Impact and Outcome The aircraft touched down fairly hard and fast, spun 90 degrees to the left, and began sliding sideways before coming to a stop in an upright position. There was no post-impact fire, and neither the pilot nor the passenger sustained injury.