20010528009169A

(.19)On may 28, 2001, at 1722 central daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N5447J, was destroyed when it struck trees during an emergency landing at the Georgetown Municipal Airport, Georgetown, Texas, the airplane was owned by a private individual and operated by lone star wings LLC under 14 code of federal regulations part 91. The private pilot and his two passengers received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which departed hutchinson, Kansas, at 1250, with a planned destination of austin, Texas. A flight plan was not filed; however, the pilot received en route VFR flight following from the ATC facilities. The pilot reported that he had flown the airplane from the austin-berstrom airport to hutchinson, Kansas, on may 25, 2001, without refueling the airplane. The pilot had the airplane refueled at hutchinson. On the day of the accident, the pilot noted that the fuel gauges were reading "empty" as the flight passed Georgetown, Texas. However, the pilot "did not believe the gauges" and continued the flight. When the airplane was approximately 4 nautical miles past the Georgetown Municipal Airport, the pilot reported to the austin approach controller that the airplane was "out of fuel." The controller vectored the airplane toward the Georgetown Municipal Airport. The airplane impacted trees short of the runway. (-23) N5447J departed hutchinson, Kansas nonstop to austin, Texas bergstrom airport. The pilot in command did not obtain a weather briefing. Approximately 4.5 hours later N5447J ran out of fuel. N5447J sustained substantial damage when the pilot in command crashed near the Georgetown, Texas airport while executing an emergency landing. (.4) on may 28, 2001, at 1725 central daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N5447J, was destroyed when it struck trees during a forced landing at the Georgetown Municipal Airport, Georgetown, Texas. The airplane was owned by a private individual and operated by lone star wings LLC under 14 code of federal regulations part 91. The private pilot and his two passengers received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight, which departed hutchinson, Kansas, at 1250, with a planned destination of austin, Texas. A flight plan was not filed; however, the p ilot received en route visual flight rules (VFR) flight following from the air traffic control (ATC) facilities. On the pilot/operator aircraft accident report (NTSB form 6120.1/2), the pilot stated that he had flown the airplane from the austin-bergstrom airport to hutchinson, Kansas, on may 25, 2001, without refueling the airplane en route. The pilot had the airplane refueled at hutchinson. The pilot stated that he knew the inaccuracy of the fuel gauges which read empty when 1/2 full. On the day of the accident, the airplane was approximately 14 nautical miles from the austin-bergstrom airport when the pilot contacted austin approach and explained to the controller that the airplane was "out of fuel." The engine RPM was 1,300 and the engine was running rough. The pilot switched the fuel selector from "both" to each wing tank and then back to "both," and for a few seconds the engine received fuel and resumed full power. The rate of descent of the airplane was approximately 400 feet per minute, and the pilot had runway 29 at the Georgetown Municipal Airport in sight. The airplane was approximately 6 miles from runway 29 when the engine "stopped." During the final approach, the airplane cleared high lines; however, the airplane "seemed to hit a downdraft over a grove of trees." The nose landing gear struck the trees, approximately 150 yards short of the runway, and the airplane "dropped straight down." The airplane turned 180 degrees to the left and came to rest nose down. The empennage separated from the cabin, the windshield was broken, the right front seat separated from the floor of the cockpit, and the front right door separated at the hinges.