20100321029979A

The flight originated in kmgw with the first leg to 9G0. The PIC stated that the aircraft had full fuel at departure. Using fueling records,the investigation revealed the aircraft was full on 3/20/2010, but the aircraft had been flown 1.3 hours on 3/20/2010. The PIC did not have the aircraft fueled before the departure to buffalo airpark. The first leg took an estimated 2:00 hrs which included a sight seeing flight around niagara falls followed by a landing at 9G0. The PIC and passengers attended a sporting event, then returned for the flight to kmgw. The PIC preflighted the fuel tanks by dipping his fuel strainer into the tanks to verify that the fuel quanity matched the guages. Witness statements corroborate this action, both at the accident scene and in follow up interviews with passengers. The PIC stated he had 40 gal per side, with the right tank slightly more than half full and the left tank three quarters full ( the aircraft usable maximum capacity is 48 gallons). He attempted to obtain fuel but did not know how to use the self serve fuel farm. He elected to depart without fueling. 20NM out of buffalo he selected the left tank in an attempt to balance fuel. The PIC and witness statements vary stating that the engine ran from a couple of minutes (passengers) to 15 min (PIC) before sputtering. The PIC re-selected the both position and the engine caught, so the PIC elected to continue the flight. In four or five separate instances occuring approximatly every 10 minutes, the PIC attempted to use the left tank. During each attempt, the engine sputtered sooner, necessatating a shift back to the both position. 40 NM north of Connelsville (kvvs) the PIC elected to land at kvvs for fuel. 20 NM from crash site the PIC attempted to contact cleveland center (zob) to announce his intentions. Zob received the call from a relaying air carrier flight over head of N8921V. ATC attempted to have N8921V contact them on the proper remote facility and squawk 7700 on his transponder. They were unable to acomplish this. The engine quit moments later and the PIC selected a farm field to land in. Upon descent and approach to the farm field, the aircraft struck utility wires which wrapped around the propeller, landing gear and airframe. The aircraft impacted the ground and flipped over with substantial damage to the left wing tip and nose wheel assembly. The nose wheel was ripped from the aircraft and was found under the right wing. The vertical stabilizer was collapsed approximatly 8 inches and the fuselage was bent and compressed behind the cargo door and in front of the empenage. The fuel tanks were not ruptured and no fuel leakage was found at the site or within the airframe. The fuel selector was on "both". The fuel guages were unreliable due to the aircraft being upside down. The split switch alternator was "on" and the ignition switch was "off". The passengers and pilot exited the aircraft. The PIC sustained minor injuries to his head and face. The passengers reported no injuries. The hobbs meter showed 4.7 hours of flight from departure at kmgw to the crash site. The aircraft dispach sheets indicated the last fueling was on 3/20/2010 and 1.3 hours of flight were flown before the PIC departed for 9G0. This equals a total of 6 hours of flight out of full tanks at an unknown mixture setting. Burn rates according to the Cessna 172M pilot operating handbook indicate 6.0 gph (2200 RPM) to 9.6 gpr burn rate (2700 RPM) between 5000 and 2500 feet pressure altitude with 8.0 to 5.0 hours of endurance respectivly. The PIC could not produce performance data or weight and balance for the flight. The PIC used buffalo ASOS weather for his briefing and was not flying on a VFR flight plan. See additional sheet for remainder of narrative.