VFR ON TOP; RPTR REQUESTS AN IFR LET DOWN AND IFR APCH. VECTORED FOR AN EXTREMELY LONG TIME; PASSED FROM ONE FACILITY TO ANOTHER. HAS FUEL EXHAUSTION; EMER.

Narrative

I ARRIVED AT ALBAS INTXN; ENRTE TO TORRANCE ARPT; ZAMPERINI FIELD. I CONTACTED COAST APCH ON 127.2 FREQUENCY AND TOLD THEM I WAS VFR ON TOP OF A CLOUD LAYER AND REQUESTED AN APCH TO TORRANCE ARPT. MY INITIAL CALL WAS TO A MALE ATC OPERATOR. I WAS RADAR VECTORED FOR APPROX 20 MINS BUT NEVER GIVEN THE APCH. FROM THE RADAR VECTORS I RECEIVED; 350 DEGS ; 310 DEGS; I ASSUMED I WAS TO RECEIVE THE ILS TO TORRANCE ARPT. AFTER APPROX 20 MINS OF NOT BEING CLRED FOR THE APCH; I RECEIVED A CHANGE OF ATC OPERATORS; AND I NOW HAD A FEMALE ATC OPERATOR WHO GAVE ME A HDG OR RADAR VECTOR WHICH LEAD ME AGAIN TO BELIEVE I WAS HEADED FOR THE ILS TO TORRANCE ARPT. AT THAT TIME I REQUESTED VECTORS AND A DSCNT FROM VFR ON TOP THROUGH IFR CLOUD LAYER TO VFR FOR LNDG AT TORRANCE ARPT WHICH WAS RPTING VFR. COAST APCH CONTINUED TO CALL TFC FOR ME; AND I AGAIN REQUESTED TO GET DOWN. FINALLY THEY CLRED ME TO 2000 FT BUT NO CLRNC FOR THE APCH. AFTER APPROX A HALF AN HR; I AGAIN REQUESTED COULD THEY GET US DOWN TO LAND. THE FEMALE ATC OPERATOR FINALLY TOLD ME THEY COULD NOT GET ME DOWN THROUGH THE CLOUDS AND SUGGESTED I CONTACT LA APCH ON 124.3. I ATTEMPTED TO DO THAT WITH NO RESPONSE. I THEN CONTACTED TORRANCE TWR TO SEE IF THEY COULD HELP. I TOLD THEM I WAS VFR ON TOP; I HAD INFO SIERRA; THE FIELD WAS VFR; I WAS TOLD TO SQUAWK 0200 AND TO MAKE A R TFC FOR RWY 11R AND TO RPT DOWNWIND. I TOLD THEM AGAIN I WAS ON TOP AND COULD THEY TELL ME IF THERE WERE ANY HOLES. THEY SAID THEY COULD NOT HELP ME; AND THAT I SHOULD CONTACT COAST APCH OR REMAIN VFR NW AND TALK TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. APPARENTLY SOMEONE FROM THE TWR TALKED TO COAST AND WAS TOLD COAST CAN WORK YOU NOW ON 127.2. I CONTACTED SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AND WAS TOLD TO STAND BY. APPROX 5 MINS LATER; THEY BEGAN VECTORING ME SUPPOSEDLY FOR FINAL; 270 DEGS; 250 DEGS; AND 2000 FT AND THEN 110 DEGS TO JOIN FINAL. THE NEXT VECTOR WAS 090 DEGS AND JOIN FINAL; THEN CLRED FOR APCH CONTACT TWR. UNABLE THE VISUAL; INSTRUCTED TO CLB IMMEDIATELY TO 1500 FTFROM 700 FT. UNABLE VISUAL; VECTORED ME TO 270 DEGS AND 1500 FT; THEN TO 2000 FT; RADAR VECTOR 280 DEGS FOR FINAL. AT ABOUT XX:15; ANOTHER VECTOR OF R 350 DEGS; THEN 130 DEGS JOIN RADIAL; RPT ESTABLISHED. SEVERAL MINS LATER I WAS ESTABLISHED AND CLRED VOR 11 L; TORRANCE. UNABLE TO ESTABLISH; VECTORED R 340 DEGS; 2000 FT; THEN CLBED TO 3000 FT AND 350 DEGS. NEXT VECTOR WAS 070 DEGS; 3000 FT. DURING THE NEXT APPROX 5 MIN; VECTORS; L 030 DEGS; L 270 DEGS; DSND FROM 3000 FT TO 2000 FT; THEN L 160 DEGS AND RPT ESTABLISHED. AT THIS TIME THE CTLR ADVISED 1600 FT; 2 MI FROM LASKE; CLRED FOR THE APCH. FINAL VECTOR WAS 1600 FT; L 090 DEGS. AT WHICH TIME ATC SAID; 'IF YOU CAN'T GET IT THIS TIME YOU WILL HAVE TO GO ELSEWHERE. THIS IS RIDICULOUS.' FOLLOWED BY 'SAY INTENTIONS.' I WAS UNABLE TO FINISH THE APCH ON THE VISUAL AND WAS TOLD TO CLB; MAINTAIN 1800; THEN 2000 FT; YOU'RE BELOW MDA. THEY ASKED IF I WAS VFR; AND AT THE TIME I WAS IN THE CLOUDS. RADAR VECTORED THEN 270 DEGS; 3000 FT. I ADVISED ATC I HAD A 'LOW FUEL STATUS.' THEY WOULD NOT ALLOW ME TO DSND BECAUSE OF THE HILLS. I TOLD THEM I WAS VFR; AND THEY INSTRUCTED ME 'FREQ CHANGE APPROVED.' SEVERAL MINS LATER I TOLD THEM; 'MY ENG IS CUTTING OUT; GIVE ME RADAR VECTORS.' I WAS TOLD 'NO; WE CAN'T VECTOR YOU; YOU ARE 3 MI N OF THE FIELD. CONTACT THE TWR. AT XX30; 'WE DECLARED A MAYDAY TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA; SAME ATC PERSON; AND THAT WE WERE OUT OF FUEL.' NO REPLY FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. THEN THEY CAME BACK AND SAID 'IDENT' IF THAT'S YOU; CALL THE TWR.' I MADE NO FURTHER CALLS TO THEM; AND PROCEEDED TOWARD THE FIELD WITHOUT AN ENG. I WAS HEADED TOWARD A BROWN BUILDING; NW OF TORRANCE FIELD; WHICH WAS LATER IDENTIFIED TO ME AS TORRANCE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL; WHEN BY SWITCHING TANKS AND FUEL PUMPS ON AND OFF BY THE OTHER PLT WITH ME; I MANAGED TO GET THE ENG RESTARTED AND WAS ABLE TO MISS THE BUILDING AND LAND; TAXI OFF THE RWY WHEN THE ENG CAUGHT FOR THE LAST TIME. I THEN CONTACTED GND AND TOLD THEM I NEEDED A TOW; BECAUSE I WAS OUT OF FUEL. THEY TOWED ME TO FUEL WHERE I PUMPED IN 85.1 GALLONS OF FUEL. MY PLANE HOLDS 90 GALLONS OF USABLE FUEL. I CHKED BOTH TANKS PRIOR TO FUELING AND THEY WERE EMPTY. APPARENTLY THERE WAS ENOUGH FUEL IN THE SYS TO RESTART MY ENG. I WAS TOLD TO COME TO THE TWR AND THEN CALL COAST APCH AND SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. I MET WITH THE ACTING TWR MGR AND ANSWERED HIS QUESTIONS. HE SAID HE WOULD MAKE AN INVESTIGATION. I LATER HAD SOMEONE CALL THE TWR FOR ME; AND I FOUND OUT THAT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEVER CALLED THE TWR TO NOTIFY THEM I WAS INBOUND WITHOUT AN ENG; AND THAT I HAD NOT CONTACTED THEM. THEY WERE UNAWARE OF MY MAYDAY STATUS; AND THERE WAS NO EMER EQUIP CALLED FOR OR ON THE FIELD. AT THE TIME MY ENG QUIT; I WAS APPROX 1 MI N OF THE FIELD; AND THERE WAS NO TIME TO DO ANYTHING BUT FLY THE ACFT AND ATTEMPT TO RESTART THE ENG TO AVOID LNDG ON HOUSES AND BUSINESSES. APPARENTLY SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DID NOT FEEL THEY HAD ANY OBLIGATION TO EITHER HELP ME IN AN EMER SIT NOR TO NOTIFY THE FIELD I HAD DECLARED AN EMER. MY REACTIONS TO THIS WHOLE MATTER ARE; I KNEW I HAD ABOUT 1 HR AND A LITTLE MORE FUEL ON BOARD. I WAS GETTING NO HELP FROM THE PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO HELP. THE PEOPLE WHO DID HELP; THE TWR; AREN'T ALLOWED TO DO WHAT I NEEDED. WHEN I HAD AN EMER STATUS; I RECEIVED NO HELP. WHEN I DECLARED AN EMER WITH MY MAYDAY AND OUT OF FUEL; ENG STOPPED; THE PROPER PROCS OF IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE WERE NOT RECEIVED. WHEN I AGAIN ASKED FOR HELP FROM SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AFTER MY MAYDAY; THEY GAVE ME A FREQ CHANGE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR STATES HE HAS RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE FAA STATING THAT HE MAY HAVE VIOLATED AN FAR. HE GETS MAD EVERY TIME HE THINKS ABOUT THE ENG QUITTING AND HIS BEING HEADED TOWARD THE HOSPITAL BUILDING. IT WAS SO UNNECESSARY. HE TRIED TO FILE IFR; HE WAS NEVER DENIED BUT JUST VECTORED ALL OVER THE SKY. HE THOUGHT HE WAS BEING VECTORED FOR THE APCH EACH TIME. ON THE PHONE AFTER THE INCIDENT APCH CTLR TOLD HIM THEY COULD NOT GIVE HIM A LET DOWN OVER LAND BELOW 2000 FT AND CEILING WAS 1100 FT. HE IS REALLY ANNOYED BECAUSE THEY KNEW FROM THE START THAT THEY COULD NOT GET HIM DOWN. AT FIRST THEY WERE GOING TO CLR FOR AN ILS ON RWY 29 WITH OTHER TFC LNDG ON RWY 11. TWICE ATC FORGOT ABOUT HIM AND HE HAD TO CALL AND REMIND THEM OF HIS PRESENCE AT WHICH TIME THEY GAVE HIM MORE VECTORS. HE IS INCENSED EACH TIME HE THINKS ABOUT THE INCIDENT AND WILL NOT RESPOND TO FAA.