Primary finding
Probable cause
was the pilot-in-command's failure to refuel the airplane during the flight. Factors were fuel exhaustion, the sign, and the pilot-in-command's lack of total experience in type of airplane.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The airplane was in cruise flight when the engine lost power. The pilot switched fuel tanks several times in an attempt to regain power. He was unable to sustain engine power and resorted to a forced landing on a road, where the wing struck a sign. Subsequent investigation revealed only unusable fuel remaining in the tanks. The pilot stated that he thought that he had five hours of fuel on board the airplane for the intended flight, but after 4.4 hours on the hobbs meter the engine began to lose power from fuel exhaustion.
Source record
Factual narrative
On March 2, 1994, at 1445 central standard time, a Piper PA-28- 180, N3592R, registered to Sky-Breeze Aviation, Inc., of Lubbock, Texas, and operated by a private pilot, experienced a loss of engine power, followed by a forced landing on a road in LIndsborg, Kansas. The airplane sustained substantial damage on landing. The pilot and two passengers reported no injuries. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. A VFR flight plan was on file for the flight from Lubbock, Texas departing about 1045 with the intended destination of Salina, Kansas. The pilot indicated that he expected the to have five hours of fuel on board the airplane. He stated that after 4.4 hours on the hobbs meter the engine lost power and he conducted a forced landing on a highway where the wing of the airplane struck a road marker. Post accident inspection revealed only unusable fuel remaining in the fuel tanks. -