What happened
On 14 February 2006, a CESSNA-152, registration ZS-PLU, was engaged in a private flight originating from Virginia Aerodrome. The pilot's intended route was to fly via Port St Johns to Margate to accumulate flight hours for a commercial license. After approximately 1.5 hours of flight, the pilot was unable to locate Port St Johns and decided to divert back toward Margate.
During the return leg, approximately 3.8 hours into the total flight duration, the aircraft encountered strong headwinds. While 35nm south of Margate in the Mkambati area, the engine began running roughly. Upon checking the cockpit instruments, the pilot observed that the right fuel gauge indicated empty, while the left gauge showed between a quarter and empty. Despite applying carburetor heat, the engine continued to malfunction and eventually failed. The pilot issued a mayday call to another aircraft on the 124.8 MHz frequency and successfully performed a forced landing on a grass area near the beach. There were no injuries and the aircraft remained undamaged.
The investigation
Investigators analyzed the fuel requirements for the flight based on the Pilot's Operating Handbook (POH). The aircraft's total usable fuel capacity was 24.5 US gallons. The calculated consumption for the flight—accounting for engine start, taxi, takeoff, climb, and 3.8 hours of flight at 6 US gallons per hour—totaled 24.8 US gallons. This calculation exceeded the available usable fuel.
Upon recovery of the ZS-PLU, the maintenance provider confirmed that both fuel tanks were completely empty. The investigation also reviewed the aircraft's maintenance history, noting that the last mandatory periodic inspection had been completed in September 2005, with 81.2 hours flown since that inspection.