Incident Details
The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91. According to the pilot, he had fueled the airplane before departure, but the electric fuel gauges indicated that the airplane was losing fuel. Believing the airplane would not reach the nearest airport, he decided to perform a precautionary landing on a state highway.
Pilot Actions
The pilot stated that both fuel gauges were reading empty at the time of the decision. He identified the highway as the only suitable landing site in the remote area. However, due to traffic on the road, he was forced to land farther down the road than he had originally planned.
Damage
During the landing roll, the left wing struck a road sign. The pilot reported that the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, elevator, and right wing.