Aftermath: Running Low on Fuel Sooner Than Expected

There can be many reasons for running low on fuel sooner than expected: headwinds that prolong a flight, tailwinds that make you optimistically skip a planned stop, tanks not filled to the brim, too rich a mixture, a miscalculation in flight planning.

Peter Garrison

Friday, June 30, 2017 at 08:01 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

A private pilot ran out of fuel and crashed his Piper Archer just six miles short of St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) during an overnight flight, killing himself and his daughter.
The NTSB determined the probable cause was the pilot's inadequate fuel planning and en route fuel management, resulting in fuel exhaustion.
A significant contributing factor to the accident was the pilot's impairment due to cocaine use, which likely affected his judgment, decision-making, and ability to overcome the temptation to avoid an inconvenient fuel stop.

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The distance from Campbell Airport (C81), a little north of Chicago, to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) in Florida is about 920 nm.

A Piper PA-28-181 Archer has two 25-gallon tanks, but is officially credited with 48 gallons of usable fuel. The pilot’s operating handbook says that at 75 percent power and best-power mixture, it burns 10.5 gallons an hour and cruises at 125 knots. The required fuel reserve for night VFR is 45 minutes at a “normal” power setting. Since a more conservative setting than max cruise certainly qualifies as normal, the reserve might arguably be six gallons. In addition, some extra fuel is required for taxi, run-up and climb; let’s say 1.5 gallons.