ATL93LA146

Shortly after the pilot began his initial descent for landing, the airplane's engine quit. After an unsuccessful restart attempt, the pilot turned toward the nearest airport for an emergency landing. The airplane landed in a soybean field approximately 500 feet from the intended runway. During landing roll, the airplane struck a fence wire on the ground and the pilot lost control of the airplane. The airplane's right wing struck an airport navaid building before coming to rest. Post accident examination revealed no fuel in the right tank and .5 gallons in the left tank. No evidence of mechanical malfunction was found. The pilot stated that he did not check fuel quantity nor did he refuel the airplane at his stop in wilmington. The pilot and his instructor both stated that they were unaware of the variances between actual aircraft consumption rates and those outlined in the pilot's operating handbook.

On August 21, 1993, at 1645 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 150H, N6933S, collided with a fence post during the landing roll following a forced landing in Monroe, NC. The airplane was operated by Roger's Ultralights, Inc. under 14 CFR Part 91 and visual flight rules (VFR). Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A VFR flight plan was filed for the solo, instructional, cross country flight. The student pilot was not injured, while the airplane was substantially damaged. Origination of the flight was Wilmington, North Carolina, at about 1515, on the same day.

The pilot reported that he was descending for landing at Matthews, North Carolina, when the engine quit. He had just flown over the airport in Monroe, North Carolina. After an unsuccessful attempt to restart the engine, the pilot reversed course and attempted a forced landing at the Monroe airport. The airplane landed in a soybean field approximately 500 feet short of the runway and collided with a fence during the landing roll. The pilot then lost control of the airplane and it veered into a small building which housed components of the airport's instrument landing system. The airplane struck the building with it's right wing before coming to rest in the field.

The pilot reported that he had personally filled the fuel tanks to capacity (22.5 gallons) before departing Matthews, at 1250, for the cross country flight to Wilmington. The pilot also reported that he had calculated an estimated fuel consumption of 4.7 gallons per hour for the flight, which would take approximately three hours and fifteen minutes. The pilot reported that he did not check the engine's actual fuel consumption during his stop at Wilmington, nor did he refuel the airplane.

Post accident examination of the airplane revealed no fuel in the right wing tank and 1/2 gallon of fuel in the left tank. Two gallons of fuel was added to the tanks and the engine operated normally. No other evidence of mechanical malfunctions was found. The Federal Aviation Administration Inspector who interviewed the pilot and his flight instructor stated that the pilot relied on the fuel consumption chart in the Pilot's Operating Handbook. It projected a 4.7 gallon per hour fuel burn in optimum conditions in a factory-new engine. Actual fuel consumption during the accident was closer to 5.75 gallons per hour based on the Hobbs meter entries for departure and landing. The flight instructor also indicated surprise that the fuel burn rate was not as published in the Pilot's Operating Handbook.