Incident
On 24 September 2007, at approximately 12:15 UTC, a Cessna 152 single-engine aircraft, registration CS-AYX, owned by Aeroclube de Portugal, was returning from a leisure flight to Cascais Aerodrome when the engine suddenly lost partial power. The pilot performed an emergency landing in an unprepared agricultural field near Aldeia Grande, west of Setúbal. The aircraft came to a stop after about 20 meters, sustaining minor damage. The pilot and passenger exited unharmed.
Flight Details
Earlier that day, the pilot arrived at the Aeroclube de Portugal facilities at Cascais Aerodrome to begin a leisure flight with his wife. He was assigned aircraft CS-AYX. Before filing the flight plan, the pilot inspected the aircraft, checking the oil and fuel levels. He noted that the fuel tanks were not completely full; about a finger's width of fuel was missing from the top. He assumed sufficient fuel for the flight and did not refuel. The pilot filed a VFR flight plan for a low-altitude round trip to Cascais with an estimated duration of two hours. In the endurance field of the flight plan, he entered four hours and thirty minutes.
The aircraft departed Cascais at approximately 10:50 UTC. The flight proceeded normally for 1 hour and 25 minutes. At approximately 12:15 UTC, while flying at 2,500 feet over the Serra da Arrábida near the city of Setúbal, the engine suffered a partial power loss and began running at low revolutions. The pilot executed appropriate procedures but could not restore power. He declared an emergency and prepared for a forced landing. When the landing was assured, he shut down the engine. The aircraft landed in an agricultural field with furrows and clods from previous cultivation.
Investigation
Upon examination at the scene, the aircraft was intact with the nose oriented at 240°. Damage included a deformed engine mount, bent nose gear strut, deformed lower engine cowling, broken left wing tip, deformed left wing leading edge, broken directional system tie rods, and a damaged transponder antenna. No fuel spill was present. The right fuel tank was empty, and the left tank contained three liters of fuel.
Maintenance personnel tested the engine at the site; it started easily and ran normally at various power settings. The fuel quantity checking stick, which measures fuel height from 0 to 15 cm (full tank at 15 cm), was used. The lack of fuel in the right tank and minimal fuel in the left tank suggested fuel starvation as the cause of the power loss. The last flight recorded in the aircraft's logbook was on the previous day, lasting 2 hours and 50 minutes.
Weather conditions at the time were clear sky with light northwest wind. Bilateral communications with Lisbon approach were established during the emergency.
Conclusions
The investigation concluded that the lack of fuel was the cause of the engine power failure.