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 pilot on a night flight with his daughter and her friend from Illinois to Florida ran out of fuel just 6 miles short of their destination, resulting in a fatal crash.
The NTSB determined the probable cause was the pilot's inadequate fuel planning and subsequent fuel exhaustion, despite the aircraft's range clearly indicating the need for at least one fuel stop, and opportunities to refuel en route.
A significant contributing factor was the pilot's impairment due to cocaine use, which likely affected his judgment, fuel management abilities, and fostered a potentially dangerous sense of empowerment and overconfidence during the long flight.

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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.