What happened
The pilot departed from a grass airstrip with no fuel available en-route, heading toward Beaufort, North Carolina. Because the pilot believed the fuel gauges were unreliable, he used a homemade dipstick to verify that 35 gallons of fuel were onboard. Based on previous experience, the pilot estimated that only 17 gallons would be required for the trip.
While cruising at 5,500 feet, the aircraft encountered unexpected headwinds. The engine began sputtering and quit while the fuel selector was set to the left main tank. After checking the gauges, the pilot switched to the right main tank and contacted air traffic control at Cherry Point, North Carolina, requesting flight following to Craven County Airport in New Bern, North Carolina.
After approximately three minutes of operation on the right tank, the engine sputtered and quit again. The pilot attempted to restart the engine by switching the fuel selector through each of the four tanks individually, but was unsuccessful. New Bern tower authorized an emergency landing on any runway and alerted airport fire and rescue services.
During the descent, the pilot retracted the flaps from the approach setting to zero, which resulted in an increased sink rate. The Cessna (type not specified in source) was unable to reach the runway, contacting the downhill side of a knoll at 100 mph. The aircraft bounced 195 feet before contacting the ground and coming to a stop short of runway 04. The pilot was not injured.
The investigation
A post-accident examination of the airframe revealed no anomalies regarding the flight controls.