October 15, 2012, Parker, Ariz. Cirrus Design SR20

The airplane landed hard during a forced landing in mountainous desert terrain at about 1000 Mountain time, sustaining substantial damage. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual conditions prevailed. The pilot reported departing Santa Monica, Calif., on the morning of the accident. Prior to beginning the flight, he checked the fuel gauges, noting they indicated the tanks were half full. He visually examined their fuel quantity through the filler necks and, observing fuel in…

Key Takeaways:

• A private pilot performed a hard forced landing in mountainous desert terrain due to the aircraft running out of fuel.
• Before the flight, the pilot dismissed accurate fuel gauge readings (half full), wrongly assuming they were faulty after a cursory visual check.
• This misjudgment led to fuel exhaustion during the flight, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane but no injuries to the pilot or passenger.

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