Incident Overview
On February 1, 2010, at 1331 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150G, registration N3995J, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in St. Augustine, Florida. The certificated commercial pilot was the sole occupant and was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight between Georgetown County Airport (GGE), Georgetown, South Carolina, and Flagler County Airport (XFL), Palm Coast, Florida.
Pilot Report
The pilot stated that after departing GGE at 1115, he climbed to 6,500 feet. He leaned the engine to 2,525 rpm with a fuel burn of 7.5 gallons per hour. While working with Jacksonville Center, he descended to 4,500 feet about 15 miles south of St. Simon's Island Airport to avoid clouds. While monitoring his gauges, he noted that the right fuel gauge was “bouncing off of E” and the left gauge was intermittent, prompting a decision to land and refuel at St. Augustine Airport (SGJ). The pilot began a descent 10 nautical miles from SGJ, but the engine lost power 4.4 nautical miles out. He activated the electric fuel pump, attempted an engine restart, declared an emergency, and indicated he would land on Highway 1 if unable to reach the airport. The subsequent forced landing on a highway involved maneuvering to avoid traffic, but the airplane struck several traffic signs and came to rest in a ditch.
Post-Inspection Findings
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the airplane “ran out of fuel” and had landed about 600 yards from SGJ. The inspector interviewed the pilot, who stated that the engine stopped during the approach. Postflight inspection revealed a failed right wing fuel tank sending unit gasket, with blue fuel stains on the under-wing, flap, and fuselage, indicating a loss of about 9.2 gallons of fuel.
Fuel and Performance Data
The pilot had purchased 20.1 gallons of fuel at GGE at 1019, and reported that the aircraft had 26 gallons onboard after refueling to full tanks. The airplane's original Lycoming O-200 engine had been replaced by a Lycoming O-320-E2D engine, which is also installed on Cessna 172I through 172M models. Performance data for the Cessna 172I-M at 2,500 feet and 2,525 rpm with a lean mixture indicated a fuel consumption of 8.0 gallons per hour, and at 4,500 feet, 7.5 gallons per hour. The pilot noted that during his 43 years in aviation and 21 years of ownership, he based fuel consumption on time, altitude, and temperature, monitored with a stopwatch.
Flight Tracking
A review of flight tracking data indicated a takeoff time of about 1100. The airplane was at 4,500 feet by 1152 and maintained that altitude until 1211, then climbed to 6,500 feet until 1220, descended back to 4,500 feet until 1249, then varied between 2,900 and 2,400 feet until 1321, averaged 2,100 feet until 1328, then began a final descent. Recorded groundspeed during level flight at 4,500 feet was most consistently around 105 knots.