What happened
On the evening of October 4, 2001, a Cessna 152, registration F-GBFL, was conducting a cross-country navigation training flight near Agen, France. The flight, operated by a local flying club, followed a route including Albi and Castres. After approximately one hour and 45 minutes of flight time, the aircraft was roughly 30 nautical miles from the Agen aerodrome when the engine suddenly stopped. The instructor took control of the aircraft and successfully performed an emergency landing in a field near Escatalens.
The investigation
The investigation focused on why the engine failed during a routine training flight. Investigators examined the aircraft's fuel levels and the pilot's logs. It was determined that the fuel tanks were completely empty at the time of the landing. The aircraft had been flying for approximately four hours and 20 minutes since its last refueling on October 2. While the club's records indicated a fuel consumption rate of 24 liters per hour, the logs contained inaccuracies regarding the actual fuel remaining.
Findings
Several contributing factors led to the engine failure. The investigation established that the pilot failed to perform a visual inspection of the fuel tanks during the pre-flight walkaround. Furthermore, the aircraft's logbook contained erroneous information, specifically noting a "full tank" status that did not reflect the actual fuel quantity.
Crucially, the investigation identified a failure to cross-check visual fuel levels against logbook entries. The crew relied on a tachymeter-based timer to track flight duration; however, because this timer is calibrated to engine revolutions, it tends to underreport actual flight time. This discrepancy, combined with the lack of a physical fuel check, resulted in the aircraft operating with insufficient fuel for the planned mission.