The pilot reported that while en route on a cross-country flight in the Champion 7KCAB about 10 miles from her destination airport, she elected to execute a precautionary landing to a field near Danville, Illinois, due to low fuel.
During the approach to land, she noticed obstacles and attempted to maneuver the airplane away from the obstacles.
The airplane touched down smoothly however, during the rollout, the airplane struck a ditch.
The left wing hit the ground and the airplane ground looped. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the outboard section of the left wing.
Examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed that both fuel tanks were nearly empty. The pilot reported that she should have stopped earlier to refuel.
Probable Cause: The pilot decision to perform a precautionary landing to a field with obstacles which resulted in a ground loop. Contributing was the pilot’s inadequate fuel planning.
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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.
Don’t pilots use fuel dipsticks to check fuel now days ? Gauges can’t be trusted and in this case the pilot delegated his responsibility for fuel to someone else, so he is totally responsible for the crash caused by his dereliction of his responsibility.
Paul.
Pilots should use a dipstick to verify the amount of fuel, if the tanks are not full, checked visually.
I have a calibrated fuel stick for my 2, 26 gallon tanks, but I usually do my first takeoff with full tanks, since I can still put 570 lb. in the seats.
There is never a good excuse for running out of fuel.!
The poh lists the endurance as 4.3 hrs, so at 4.25 hrs it was about out of fuel.
The 332 nm at 109 kts should have taken about 3 hrs, so maybe a headwind , or some sightseeing ?
Landing across the crop rows could have a ditch… it’s better to land with the row direction.
This pilot had 800 hrs in the aircraft, so no excuses for running low on fuel ?
Let’s see. Enough fuel to reach the destination plus 30 minutes of fuel at cruise power for VFR. How hard is that to calculate? Yet time and time again, pilots can’t seem to do the calculations.
It was 332 nm, so at 109 kts, [no wind], it should take 3.0 hrs, vs 4.3 hrs of fuel, 39 gal.
She planned for 3.25 hrs, but ran out of fuel at that time [ she flew from the central TZ to the Eastern TZ, so a 1 hr change].
I know we only have two photos of the accident site, but I’m not seeing any “obstacles” or a “ditch”?
I do see what was an apparent attempt to land perpendicular to the relatively shallow furrows in the ground…instead of parallel to them.
Time and time again this continues to happen flying over an airport where you can get fuel thinking you won’t run out but I do agree she probably had enough to get 10 miles further.
“Tanks nearly empty”? What’s that mean? It might take 3 quarts of gas to go that 10 miles to the destination airport, but the pilot panics and sets down on some farmer’s field and prangs the aircraft. This was no “forced landing”! She elected to land!
Intended to help pilots learn from the mistakes of others???…Ain’t working…lol
And more letters in a checklist and more safety organizations doesn’t fix it. Some people are really not mentally equipped to operate an aircraft.
Nail hit on its head. Amen.
Regards/J
it’s simple math; gallons of fuel , divided by gallons per hour burned = hours of flight time to empty.
Use a clock/timer.
BUT, the amount of fuel in the tanks must be know on takeoff.!!
know what you’ve got before you go.!!