At 1600 central time, a Cessna 177A lost engine power due to fuel exhaustion and was damaged during the ensuing forced landing. The student pilot/owner was not injured. The pilot said he was departed Hope, Ark., for Sherrill, Ark., with each tank three-quarters full. He was unable to find the airstrip and circled the airfield for an hour looking for it. He ran low on fuel, so he landed in a field, obtained five gallons of gas and directions to the airport, and took off again. He was again unable to find the airstrip and the airplane ran out of fuel.
March 12, England, Ark. / Cessna 177
At 1600 central time, a Cessna 177A lost engine power due to fuel exhaustion and was damaged during the ensuing forced landing. The student pilot/owner was not injured. The pilot said he was departed Hope, Ark., for Sherrill, Ark., with each tank three-quarters full. He was unable to find the airstrip and circled the airfield for an hour looking for it. He ran low on fuel, so he landed in a field, obtained five gallons of gas and directions to the airport, and took off again. He was again unable to find the airstrip and the airplane ran out of fuel....
Key Takeaways:
- A student pilot flying a Cessna 177A experienced engine failure and damaged the aircraft during a forced landing, though the pilot was uninjured.
- The incident was caused by fuel exhaustion, after the pilot got lost trying to find his destination airstrip and circled for an hour, depleting his initial fuel.
- Even after an intermediate landing to refuel and get directions, the pilot again failed to locate the airstrip, causing the aircraft to run out of fuel a second time.
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