At 19:14 MST, a Cessna 152 was destroyed during a forced landing near Buckeye, but neither occupant was injured. The pilot told investigators he had computed the fuel requirement for the flight by using the fuel consumption chart in the pilot operators handbook and believed he had 3 hours 55 minutes of fuel available. At the time the engine quit, the Hobbs meter showed that 3 hours 20 minutes had elapsed. When further asked about his planning, he acknowledged that he had not considered the additional fuel requirements for his initial takeoff and climb, nor seven other landings and takeoffs that he subsequently made during the flight. Aircraft retrieval personnel recovered less than 2 gallons of fuel from both of the main tanks.
Aug. 13, Buckeye, Ariz. / Cessna 152
At 19:14 MST, a Cessna 152 was destroyed during a forced landing near Buckeye, but neither occupant was injured. The pilot told investigators he had computed the fuel requirement for the flight by using the fuel consumption chart in the pilot operators handbook and believed he had 3 hours 55 minutes of fuel available. At the time the engine quit, the Hobbs meter showed that 3 hours 20 minutes had elapsed. When further asked about his planning, he acknowledged that he had not considered the additional fuel requirements for his initial takeoff and climb, nor seven other landings and takeoffs that he subsequently made during the flight. Aircraft retrieval personnel recovered less than 2 gallon...
Key Takeaways:
- A Cessna 152 was destroyed during a forced landing near Buckeye after its engine quit, though both occupants were uninjured.
- The incident was caused by fuel exhaustion, with less than 2 gallons recovered from the tanks.
- The pilot miscalculated fuel requirements, believing he had 3 hours 55 minutes of fuel when the engine failed after only 3 hours 20 minutes of flight.
- The miscalculation occurred because the pilot failed to account for fuel consumed during the initial takeoff, climb, and seven subsequent takeoffs and landings.
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