Event GAA19CA048

Factual narrative

The newly certificated pilot reported that during a cross country flight, he hadn't considered the engine's fuel burn for touch and goes or headwinds, and during the final approach to the destination airport, the engine lost power. Due to homes that were in line with the approach end of the runway, instead of continuing to the runway, he decided to perform an emergency landing in a field. During the off-airport landing, the airplane "slid" and came to rest in trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. During the post-accident examination, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that, the fuel gauges read zero, and that there was no fuel in the right fuel tank and only 10 ounces were recovered from the left fuel tank. Additional fuel was added to the airplane and the engine started and operated normally. He added that, after speaking to the pilot, the pilot "basically admitted" that he did not properly monitor the engine's fuel consumption. The pilot reported that, during the final approach to the destination airport, the engine lost power. Due to homes that were in line with the approach end of the runway, he decided to perform an emergency landing in a field, during which the airplane slid and then came to rest in trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that he had not considered the engine's fuel burn for touch-and-go landings or headwinds during his preflight planning. During postaccident examination, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the fuel gauges read zero and that no fuel was found in the right fuel tank and only 10 ounces of fuel were found in the left fuel tank. Fuel was added to the airplane, and the engine started and operated normally. He added that he talked to the pilot, and he stated that he had flown 3.6 hours and performed at least six touch-and-go landings. The pilot also stated that the airplane usually has a 3.5-hour maximum range at 1,000 ft above ground level at 8 to 9 gallons per hour and that he likely did not properly monitor the engine's fuel consumption, which led to fuel exhaustion. Given the evidence, it is likely the pilot did not ensure that there was sufficient fuel onboard the airplane for the flight and that he did not monitor it properly during the flight, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the subsequent total loss of engine power. 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 Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C
• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C
• — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tree(s)-Contributed to outcome