NTSB Factual Report

The pilot of the single-engine airplane stated that he departed on a cross country flight but did not visually check the amount of fuel in the main tanks before departure and relied on his fuel gauges, which indicated 2/3-full (left tank) and 1/2-full (right tank). Both wingtip fuel tanks were empty. The pilot departed with the fuel selector on the left main tank. He then switched over to the right main tank while en route, but noticed the needle on the fuel gauge was not moving as the flight progressed. The flight was uneventful and the pilot made an instrument approach into his destination airport; however, he had to execute a missed approach due to low clouds. During the missed approach procedure he entered visual conditions and asked air traffic control (ATC) if he could maintain visual conditions and circle to land. The pilot said that as he was turning crosswind the engine began to run rough and stopped producing power. He tried to re-start the engine twice as he prepared for a forced landing to a closer runway. The pilot did not have time to switch the fuel selector to the left tank and ended up striking trees and landing short of the runway threshold. A postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the firewall and fuselage. The landing gear was also damaged. Neither the left nor right wing fuel tanks were breached. About 20 oz of fuel was drained from the right main tank and about 21 gallons of fuel were drained from the left main tank. Though the pilot said the right fuel gauge was not reading properly, he acknowledged that he should have monitored fuel burn rate over a given period of time versus relying on just the fuel gauge.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to adequately manage the available fuel supply, resulting in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.