INSTRUCTIONAL FLT ENDS WITH AN OFF ARPT LNDG BECAUSE OF FUEL STARVATION. THERE WAS FUEL ONBOARD.
Synopsis
INSTRUCTIONAL FLT ENDS WITH AN OFF ARPT LNDG BECAUSE OF FUEL STARVATION. THERE WAS FUEL ONBOARD.
Narrative
A STUDENT AND MYSELF WERE ON AN INST TRAINING APCH AT THE MDA 1/2 MI N OF RWY WHEN THE ENG BEGAN RUNNING ROUGH. AT THAT POINT I HAD HER SWITCH TANKS AND AT 450 FT AGL REALIZED I COULD NOT MAKE THE RWY WITHOUT CAUSING MAJOR INJURY AND DAMAGE ON A CIRCLE TO LAND APCH. I THEN LANDED STRAIGHT AHEAD IN A PLOWED FIELD OFF ARPT. THERE WAS NO INJURY OR DAMAGE AND THE ACFT WAS FLYING WITHIN A FEW HRS. PRIOR TO THE FLT I ASKED THE 100+ HR PLT HOW MUCH FUEL WAS IN EACH TANK AND SHE REPLIED 'UP TO THE TABS' WHICH IS MINIMUM 17 GALS/TANK IN A PA28161. DURING OUR APCH CHKLIST WE TURNED THE FUEL PUMP ON AND PUSHED THE MIXTURE TO FULL RICH POS AND I TOLD HER NOT TO SWITCH TANKS BECAUSE AFTER A 1.2 HR FLT WE HAD MORE THAN 1 HR OF GAS LEFT. IT SO HAPPENED THAT WE LEFT WITH ONLY 8 GALS IN THE FUEL TANK AND SHE MISREAD THE FUEL LEVEL. AFTER SWITCHING TANKS; THERE WAS NOT ENOUGH TIME FOR THE FUEL LEVEL TO FILL THE LINE AND RESTART THE ENG. THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY MYSELF PAYING MORE ATTN TO FUEL MGMNT.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.