What happened
On January 30, 2024, a private general aviation flight was conducting a transit from Aeródromo Lago Nahuel Huapi to Aeródromo Chacras del Faro in Comodoro Rivadavia. While the aircraft, a PMD with registration LV-X753, was in the cruise phase of its flight, the pilot identified an erroneous reading on the fuel indicator.
Due to the uncertainty regarding the actual fuel remaining in the tanks, the pilot elected to terminate the flight early. The aircraft performed an emergency landing in an unprepared field located in a rural area near Laguna de Chuky, within the Escalante Department of Chubut Province. There were no injuries reported for the single occupant of the aircraft, and the airframe sustained no damage during the landing.
The investigation
The JST investigation focused on the circumstances leading to the decision to land in an unprepared area. Investigators examined the flight path, the meteorological conditions at the time of the event (which were VMC), and the specific mechanical discrepancy reported by the pilot regarding the fuel system instrumentation.