Incident Overview
While en route on a night cross-country flight, the engine ceased operation due to fuel exhaustion, prompting the pilot to execute a forced landing on a mountain slope.
Background
The pilot received a phone call earlier that evening informing him that his sister had been admitted to the hospital with a medical condition. He decided to fly that night to the city where his sister was hospitalized.
Preflight and Departure
The pilot performed a preflight inspection but failed to fuel the airplane. He departed at 2100 hours.
In-Flight Events
Shortly after reaching his cruising altitude of 12,500 feet, the pilot realized that he had not fueled the airplane. Upon checking the fuel gauges, he determined that the fuel tanks were empty. He radioed the tower at his destination airport, reporting that he was out of fuel and anticipated a forced landing in the mountains. Soon after, the engine quit. The pilot turned the airplane to the southeast, attempting to land on a small Forest Service mountain runway. He could see the ground and mountainous terrain getting closer, determined that he would not make it to the runway, and proceeded to force-land the airplane on a steep, snow-covered slope.