BANNER TOW ACFT HAS FUEL STARVATION. EMER LNDG.

Narrative

AFTER TAKING COMMAND OF THE ACFT I NOTICED A LOW FUEL SIT. I ASKED FOR AND OBTAINED PERMISSION FROM GARY TWR TO SPEAK WITH COMPANY GND. ADVISED THEM OF THE SIT AND WAS TOLD BY THE OWNER/OPERATOR OF AIRLINES TO PROCEED WITH THE FLT WITH THE FUEL ON BOARD. ONCE AIRBORNE I WAS ADVISED BY THE OWNER/OPERATOR OF AIRLINES THAT I HAD 2 HRS TACHOMETER TIME OF FUEL ON BOARD. (TWR RECORDINGS SHOULD VERIFY THIS.) WITH THIS INFO I PROCEEDED WITH THE BANNER TOW WATCHING BOTH TACHOMETER AND CLOCK TIME. I LEFT THE BANNER TOW AREA SO AS TO ALLOW FOR 30 MINS RESERVE FUEL AFTER RETURNING TO OUR BASE OF OP AT THE GARY REGIONAL ARPT (GYY). AT APPROX XA55 HRS AND ABOUT 8 SM FROM MY DEST THE ENG BEGAN TO CUT OUT FROM FUEL STARVATION. I CONTACTED THE GARY TWR AND ADVISED THEM I HAD A PROB; ASKED TO STANDBY. I DECLARED AN EMER. REVERSED MY DIRECTION OF FLT TO FIND AN AREA TO RELEASE THE BANNER I HAD IN TOW AND TO FIND AN AREA TO MAKE AN EMER LNDG. DURING THE 4-5 MINS OF AIR TIME I HAD LEFT BECAUSE OF THE ENG RESTARTING AT TIMES; I SAW SEVERAL POSSIBLE LNDG SIGHTS BUT I WAS UNABLE TO REACH ANY OF THEM BECAUSE I COULD NOT KEEP THE ENG RUNNING LONG ENOUGH. AN AREA I HAD LOOKED AT DURING THE BANNER DROP WAS THE ONLY ONE WITHIN MY GLIDING DISTANCE BUT BECAUSE IT WAS A PUBLIC PARK I CHOSE TO LOOK FOR ANOTHER SIGHT. I WAS COMMITTED TO A WATER LNDG WHEN I NOTICED THAT THE PARK PARKING LOT WAS INDEED SUITABLE WITHOUT ANY PERSONS TO BE SEEN IN THE LNDG AREA. (IF PEOPLE WERE IN THE AREA I WOULD HAVE DITCHED.) AT APPROX XB01 HRS I PERFORMED A SAFE AND UNEVENTFUL LNDG. AFTER INSPECTION OF THE ACFT BY IA; THE ACFT WAS REFUELED AND LATER FLOWN OUT. I ACCEPTED THE JUDGEMENT OF THE OWNER/OPERATOR BECAUSE OF HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE ACFT AND OF ITS PRIOR USE. I SHOULD HAVE INSISTED TO BE REFUELED EVEN THOUGH THE OWNER/OPERATOR FELT I HAD ENOUGH FUEL TO COMPLETE THE FLT.