Incident Overview
On 14 February 2006 at 0830Z, a Cessna 152 registered ZS-PLU was involved in an incident on grass 35 nautical miles south of Margate in the Mkambati area. The aircraft was being operated on a private flight. There were no injuries and the aircraft sustained no damage.
Flight and Navigation
The pilot departed from Virginia Aerodrome with full fuel tanks on a private flight to Margate via Port St Johns, with the intention of building hours towards a Commercial Pilot Licence. After flying for approximately 1.5 hours, the pilot became unable to locate Port St Johns and decided to return to Margate.
Engine Failure and Forced Landing
After approximately 3.8 hours of flight, with strong headwind conditions, the engine began running rough. The pilot checked the instruments and noted that the right-hand fuel gauge indicated empty and the left-hand fuel gauge indicated between quarter and empty. Carburettor heat was applied, but the engine continued running rough and eventually failed. The pilot made a mayday call on frequency 124.8 MHz to another aircraft and executed a forced landing on a grass area near the beach.
Investigation
The probable cause of the incident was that the pilot became unsure of his position and, after flying for 3.8 hours, the engine failed due to fuel exhaustion.