Event ERA12CA348

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane had been flying about 4 hours, 25 minutes since its last fueling, which included two takeoffs and climbs. Toward the end of a long cross-country flight, during approach to the destination airport, the engine lost all power. At that time, the airplane was approximately 3 miles from the destination airport at 1,200 feet above ground level. The fuel selector was positioned to the left main fuel tank when the power loss occurred. The pilot moved it to the right main fuel tank, but the engine did not regain power. The pilot then performed a forced landing to a road. During the landing, he had to veer left to avoid an automobile and the left wing impacted a median. The airplane spun 180 degrees and came to rest upright. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to both wings. The inspector noted that the left wing fuel tank was intact and did not contain any fuel. The right wing fuel tank had been compromised; however, it was only compromised on the top of the tank and no fuel leaked from the right main fuel tank. The inspector observed approximately 1/2 gallon of fuel in the right main fuel tank. The inspector did not observe and mechanical malfunctions that would have contributed to the loss of engine power, nor did the pilot report any. The pilot reported that the airplane had flown about 4 hours, 25 minutes, including two takeoffs and climbs, since its last fueling. When the airplane was about 3 miles from the destination airport at 1,200 feet above ground level, the engine lost all power. The fuel selector was positioned to the left main fuel tank when the power loss occurred. The pilot moved the selector to the right main fuel tank, but the engine did not regain power. The pilot then performed a forced landing to a road. During the landing, he veered left to avoid an automobile and the left wing impacted a median. The airplane spun 180 degrees and came to rest upright. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failure that would have precluded normal operation; however, there was impact-related damage to both wings. The left main fuel tank was intact and did not contain any fuel. Although the top of the right main fuel tank had been compromised, there was no evidence that fuel had leaked from that tank. About 1/2 gallon of fuel was found in the right main fuel tank. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C