20010412009179A

(.19)On April 12, 2001, at 2145 central daylight time (CDT), a Cessna 172E airplane, N5638T, was destroyed when it impacted terrain during an emergency descent near Bay City, Texas. The airplane was owned and operated by the instrument rated private pilot. The pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, sustained fatal injuries. Dark night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 code of federal regulations part 91 personal flight. The cross-country flight originated from the alpine-casparis municipal airport, alpine, Texas at an unknown time and was destined for the Bay City Municipal Airport, Bay City Texas. According to information obtained from the houston air route traffic control center, the pilot reported that he was "disoriented," and had 10 minutes of fuel on board. Air traffic control provided the pilot with radar vectors to the nearest airport; however, 10 minutes 30 seconds later, the pilot reported that he "ran out of fuel." Subsequently, on April 13, 2001, at 0430CDT, the civil air patrol located the airplane on a private ranch 10 miles north of the Bay City Municipal Airport. At 2153, the weather observation facility at the brazoria county airport, angleton/lake jackson, Texas, (located 22 miles northeast of the Bay City airport) reported a broken cloud layer at 1,000 feet and an overcast layer at 2,800 feet, wind from 160 degrees at 8 knots, visibility 7 miles, temperature 75 degrees fahrenheit, dewpoint 73 degrees fahrenheit, and an altimeter setting of 29.95 inches of mercury. A GPS receiver recorded the accident location at north latitude 029 degrees 06.50 minutes and west longitude 095 degrees 57.90 minutes. The energy path measured 76 feet 10 inches in length, oriented on a 145 degrees magnetic heading. The initial impact point was the top wire of a barbed wire fence. The top wire measured 3 feet 9 inches above ground level. The main wreckage, which consisted of the airframe, was located 40 feet 10 inches from the initial impact point. The propeller separated at the engine crankshaft and was located 19 feet southeast of the main wreckage. The engine separated from the airframe and was located 26 feet southeast of the main wreckage. The leading edges of both propeller blades did not display any gouges, and were free of chordwise scratching, nicks, and abrasions. The airplane was equipped with two 21 gallon metal fuel tanks. The pilot's operating handbook revealed that the unusable fuel for each tank in a straight and level flight attitude is 0.5 gallons, and in all flight attitudes, the unusable fuel per tank is 1.5 gallons. The right wing fuel tank contained 3 ounces of fuel and the left wing fuel tank contained 1.5 gallons of fuel. The carburetor separated from the engine and residual fuel was found in the bowl. Both fuel caps were examined and their rubber seals were intact and did not appear worn. The fuel caps seated properly when removed and reinstalled by the iic. Additionally, there was no evidence of fuel leakage around the fuel caps, nor was there evidence of an in-flight loss of fuel. (-23)see narrative FTW01LA098;same narrative as .19 (.4) the night cross country visual flight rules flight had been airborne for 3 hours and 37 minutes when the instrument rated pilot reported to a local flight service station (fss) that he had 10 minutes of fuel on board, and was disoriented. The fss connected the pilot with the houston air route traffic control center, who provided radar vectors to the nearest airport. H owever, 10 minutes later the pilot reported that he had run out of fuel and, subsequently, the final radar return was received. The airplane impacted a fence and trees 10 miles north of the destination airport. Review of the radar track revealed that, during the final 36 minutes of the flight, the airplane was not maintaining a constant altitude and had been making "s" turns, 360-degree turns, and at one point had flown past the destination airport. Marginal visual meteorological conditions and patchy instrument meteorological conditions existed near the accident site and destination airport. There was no record of the pilot having received a weather briefing from a flight service station prior to or during the flight. The airplane was examined and the integrity of the fuel system was confirmed. Further examination of the fuel system revealed that only unusable fuel was present in the fuel system. No anomalies were found with the airframe or engine that would have precluded operation of the airplane.