ATL95LA137

While on the return flight, the pilot became disoriented and decided to change his destination. Concerned about the amount of fuel remaining, the pilot decided to look for another landing site, as he maneuvered for the precautionary landing, the engine lost power. The pilot made a forced landing to a dirt race track, and during the rollout the airplane collided with thick brush and nosed over. No aircraft mechanical problems were reported by the pilot. A review of the rental documents revealed that the pilot had flown 3.7 hours without refueling. The normal fuel endurance for this aircraft is approximately 4 flight hours.

On July 15, 1995, at 1500 central daylight time, a Cessna 172D, N3744S, collided with thick bushes nosed over during the rollout phase of a forced landing near Stanton, Tennessee. The personal flight operated under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage; the pilot received minor injuries, and the passenger received serious injuries. The flight departed Somerville, Tennessee, at 1130 hours.

The pilot reported that the airplane was topped off with 32 1/2 gallons of aviation fuel before he departed Somerville. After about three hours of local flying, the pilot returned to Somerville. Upon arriving back in the vicinity of the destination airport, the pilot noticed that he was low on fuel. The pilot also became disoriented, and could not locate the destination airport; the pilot decided to divert to an airport that he was familiar. While enroute to the new destination, the pilot again became concern about this fuel situation and decided to make a precautionary landing. Before a precautionary landing could be made, the engine quit. The pilot selected a dirt race track and made an emergency landing. During the rollout, the airplane collided with thick bushes, and nosed over.

During the on site examination of the aircraft, two quarts of fuel were recovered from the fuel system. The review of the aircraft rental checkout documents disclosed that the pilot had flown 3.7 hours since his initial departure. The airplane has a normal fuel endurance of approximately four hours. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.