NTSB Factual Report

The pilot made a 1 hour 20 minute flight to a private strip in the morning, and expected to be working there for a few hours. His work ended up lasting all day, and he did not depart until sundown. He stated that he was very tired and anxious to get home. His panel mounted global positioning satellite system (GPS) was not internally lit, and after getting airborne he discovered that a flashlight that he kept in the airplane for this purpose did not work. Rather than return to the departure airport for another light, he decided to travel north until he intersected Interstate 84, where he could turn west and follow it home. He saw the intersection approaching, turned west, and gave no further thought to navigation. He was 5,000 feet above ground level (agl), and stated that he could not be sure that this was the proper highway to follow. He noted that he was so tired that he forgot that he had a handheld GPS in his backpack that was internally lit. He noticed that the highway turned south, so he continued west thinking that he would pick it up again when it turned back to the north. About 30 minutes later, the pilot realized that he had been following the wrong road. He became very disoriented and turned north attempting to locate a town that he could recognize. He then used his cell phone to light up the face of the panel mounted GPS, discovered that he was 150 miles from Boise, Idaho, and turned toward it. About 10 minutes later, he realized that he did not have enough fuel to make it to Boise. A quick check revealed that he did not have enough fuel to make it to Wells, Nevada, which was the next closest airport. He continued on toward Boise hoping that he would find a road or clear place to land. At an altitude of 4,000 feet agl, the engine lost power. He saw no traffic on any road to help find a landing spot. He was in an extremely remote area, and only saw three lights on the ground that were about 1/2 mile apart. During the descent, he reminded himself repeatedly to maintain 15 miles per hour above the stall speed, and fly it to the ground rather than stall. Prior to landing, he had just enough airspeed to dodge a power pole and overhead power lines just seconds before he was about to collide with them. He land on rough terrain near a house, and all three landing gear sheared off at touchdown. The airplane slid about 100 feet before colliding with an old shed near the house. He walked about 50 feet to the house, but no one was home, so he walked to the next home 1/2-mile away to report the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's becoming lost and disoriented. Contributing to the accident was fatigue, as reported by the pilot.