19970130000989A

(.4) According to the student pilot and the operator of the airplane, the student was on a solo cross country flight from rockwall, Texas, to bonham, Texas, with an intermediate stop in paris, Texas. During the flight from rockwall to paris, the student did not locate his destination airport. After trying to find the airport for approximately 20 minutes, he continued on toward bonham, which was approximately 37 nautical miles from paris. The student became disoriented and attempted to contact both fort worth and mcalester flight service stations without success. Other pilots in the area heard the student's calls and attempted to help. A pilot, who thought he saw the student's airplane (but might have seen another airplane), informed the student that bonham was north of his position. The student flew north in search of bonham, until the airplane ran out of fuel near Boswell, Oklahoma. Subsequently, the airplane was damaged during a forced landing in a rough/uneven field. (-23) on January 30, 1997, at 1730 CST, a Piper PA-38, N2493A, was substantially damaged during a forced landing in a pasture north of Boswell, OK. Th e student pilot was on the ground leg of a solo cross country when he became disoriented. The pilot continued to fly searching for jones airport in bohman, TX, his destination airport, until the airplane ran out of fuel.