PA30 LANDS WITH BOTH ENGS OUT DUE TO FUEL STARVATION AT KUTS.
Synopsis
PA30 LANDS WITH BOTH ENGS OUT DUE TO FUEL STARVATION AT KUTS.
Narrative
I MADE A VERY POOR DECISION AND EFFECTIVELY RAN MY PA30 OUT OF FUEL WHILE ON A XCOUNTRY FLT FROM ZZZ2 TO ZZZ1. I TOOK OFF FROM MY HOME FIELD WITH APPROX 60 GALS OF FUEL. I PLANNED TO ADD FUEL AT ZZZ2. AFTER COMPLETING MY BUSINESS IN ZZZ2 I WAS IN A HURRY TO RETURN TO ZZZ1. I HAD GET-HOMEITIS. I LOOKED AT MY FUEL IN MY MAIN TANKS AND FELT THAT IT SHOULD BE ENOUGH TO TAKE ME TO ZZZ1 WITH NO PROB. IT HAD TAKEN 1.8 HRS TO FLY TO ZZZ2 AND I WAS BURNING ABOUT 17 GPH. BY MY CALCULATIONS I SHOULD HAVE HAD ABOUT 30 GALS LEFT. VISUALLY; THAT LOOKED ABOUT RIGHT. MY L STRUT WAS LOW AND I PLANNED TO SVC IT AT ZZZ1. TKOF AND CLB WERE NORMAL ENOUGH AND I CAUGHT MYSELF THINKING ABOUT HOW NICE A DAY IT WAS TO FLY. I ALSO LET MY MIND WANDER TO MY BUSINESS FROM EARLIER IN THE DAY. I PLANNED TO BURN MY OUTBOARD TANKS UNTIL THE FIRST ONE SHOWED LOW PRESSURE AND THEN SWITCH BACK TO THE MAINS FOR THE DSCNT AND LNDG. AS I PLANNED MY DSCNT INTO MY DEST; MY R OUTBOARD TANK EMPTIED. I TURNED ON THE BOOST PUMP AND PUT BOTH FUEL SELECTORS TO THE MAIN POS. THE MAINS WERE SHOWING ABOUT 1/4 OF A FULL TANK. I WAS ABOUT 50 NM FROM MY DEST. AS I APCHED 30 NM; THE R ENG BEGAN TO SURGE AND I SELECTED XFEED. THIS WAS A SURPRISE TO ME AND AS I WAS WITHIN 5 NM OF A NICE ARPT WITH FUEL; I DECIDED TO LAND SHORT AT ZZZ. THE MAINS STILL SHOWED JUST UNDER 1/4 TANK. I SET UP FOR A STRAIGHT APCH TO THE N RWY AND MADE A RADIO CALL ON THE WRONG FREQ. THE SURGING ON THE R ENG DID NOT STOP SO I DECIDED TO FEATHER THE PROP AND LAND SINGLE ENG. I WAS ON A 1 MI FINAL WHEN THE L ENG BEGAN TO SURGE. I FELT LIKE THE ARPT WAS MADE BUT; AS I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THE EFFECT OF A FLAT PROP WOULD BE; I DECIDED TO FEATHER THE REMAINING ENG. I LANDED AT THE 1000 FT MARK AND ROLLED TO A STOP AND OFF AT AN INTXN. I FELT SICK TO MY STOMACH AS I INSPECTED BOTH MAIN TANKS AND COULD SEE THE BOTTOM OF EACH. HOW COULD I; AN 18000 HR PLT AND INSTRUCTOR; HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN? I HAD BEEN SO FOCUSED ON GETTING BACK TO HOUSTON THAT I PRESSED THE ENVELOPE. TO MAKE MATTERS EVEN WORSE; I HAD APPROX 5 USABLE GALS OF FUEL IN THE L OUTBOARD TANK. AFTER BEING TOWED TO THE FUEL PUMP AND FUELED; I DETERMINED THAT I HAD APPROX 8 USABLE GALS OF FUEL REMAINING BTWN THE 4 TANKS. I MADE SO MANY MISTAKES ON THIS FLT THAT IT IS DIFFICULT FOR ME TO ADDRESS IT. I SHOULD HAVE FILLED THE TANKS AT ZZZ2. I SHOULD HAVE BELIEVED MY EYES AND NOT MY CALCULATIONS. I SHOULD HAVE HAD MY MIND MORE IN THE GAME. I CAN SAY WITH CONFIDENCE THAT I HAVE LEARNED A GREAT DEAL FROM THIS EXPERIENCE AND DO NOT PLAN TO MAKE A MISTAKE LIKE THIS EVER AGAIN.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.