The pilot was conducting a personal flight when the Zenith CH-750 had a total loss of engine power during cruise flight.
The pilot stated that the flight departed with about 16 gallons of fuel distributed evenly between the left- and right-wing tanks, and both fuel tank gauges indicated about 3/4 full before departure.
About 30 to 45 minutes into the flight, the pilot noted that the left fuel tank gauge indicated about 1/4 full while the right fuel tank gauge remained about 3/4 full. He decided to reposition the fuel selector valve to the right fuel tank to correct the fuel imbalance.
The pilot told investigators that the location of his Apple iPad in the cockpit blocked his view of the right fuel tank gauge, so he made a “mental note” to check the right fuel tank gauge in about 30 to 45 minutes.
The flight continued uneventfully at 300 feet above ground level until the airplane had a total loss of engine power due to a lack of fuel in the right fuel tank. The engine did not restart after the pilot repositioned the fuel selector valve to BOTH, turned on the electric fuel boost pump, and engaged the electric starter.
Both wings were substantially damaged during the subsequent forced landing in a wooded area near Libby, Minnesota.
The low altitude at which the loss of engine power occurred significantly reduced the amount of time available to the pilot to troubleshoot and restore engine power before the forced landing.
Probable Cause: The total loss of engine power due to the pilot’s improper fuel management, which led to fuel starvation. Contributing to the accident was the low altitude at which the loss of engine power occurred.
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This October 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
This retired ATP had only 10 hrs in the aircraft. He had no idea what an O-200 fuel use is…From the C150 POH, it’s 3.5 to 5.9 gph. So at 70 kts it may be in the middle of the burn rate, or 4.5 gph. [ in a C150 that’s 60% power ]
My SWAG is that he did not stick the tanks; maybe difficult for a 79 YO.
And, I’d suspect that the fuel gauges were no where close to being calibrated to the fuel in the tanks.
So, at 2.25 hrs and 4.5 gph is only 10 gallons.
So, more ‘stupid pilot tricks’ .!
I’m always bothered when the pilot reports “about” some quantity of fuel. That tells me it was only a guess. And invariably the pilot seems not to know how much the engine uses per hour, another “about”. Then the pilot was in the air “about” some nebulous time period. Lots of “about” holes in the Swiss cheese model.
Except this former military pilot with an ATP and other ratings, was looking at the fuel guages and NOTICED that the right tank had more fuel in it than did the left tank, so he switched to right to get the plane back in balance.
The question here is, after reading the NTSB report is, where did the gasoline come from that the pilot mentioned spilling out? This plane just had maint done for an oil leak. So how could that have figured into the fuel system problems.
Flying low — It turns out that he was from that area and was looking at how things were since he had moved away. So as long as he wasn’t low enough to hit anything or put people in danger, since no one was out in the fields… I’m not sure one can make an argument about reckless operation. And the reason he hit trees was a choice between landing in the river and drowning or into small trees and surviving.
Knowing how this can happen in a Cessna 15x, I wonder how this happened in the plane he was flying. How are the tank vents done? The engine quits but when he lands he gets a fuel dump.
Is there any question as to why our insurance rates keep increasing? Poor piloting, especially incidents caused by fuel mismanagement, is hurting the GA community of responsible pilots.
Flying at 300 feet AGL? In what world is that acceptable? I also echo Mr. Patterson as to wondering where the fuel went. Bald reporting for this incident as far as I am concerned.
Flying at 300’ AGL is perfectly acceptable and legal in vast areas of the country. Prudent? Not as much.
Probable cause doesn’t explain where the fuel went, minor detail in the tale.