DEN01LA004

While on a round robin cross-country flight, the engine lost all power and the pilot attempted to make an emergency landing on a 1,800 foot long private airstrip. The approach was high and fast and the pilot attempted to turn the aircraft around and land in the opposite direction. He ended up landing hard, on rough terrain, about 200 feet short of the runway. Examination of the aircraft following the accident revealed the only fuel remaining was unusable fuel in each tank. The pilot said he did not physically check the fuel quantity prior to departure and that one of the two fuel gauges was inoperative.

On October 14, 2000, at 1902 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172N, N738CW, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing in a field near a private airstrip at Jensen, Utah, following a complete loss of power. The private pilot in command received serious injuries, one passenger received minor injuries and the other passenger no injuries. The flight was operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight was a "round robin," which originated from Vernal, Utah, at 1830. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.

According to the pilot, he failed to visually confirm the amount of fuel on board the aircraft during what he described as a rushed preflight. The right fuel gauge read between 1/4 and 1/2 (between 7 and 11 gallons) and the left fuel tank gauge was inoperative, which the pilot knew. The flight was to be to Rangely, Colorado, and return to Vernal, a distance of approximately 145 miles. When in the vicinity of Jensen, the engine lost all power and the pilot attempted to land on a private (1,800 foot long) private airstrip. On his approach, he provided information that he was high and fast and he attempted to return to the opposite end of the runway for landing. In that attempt, he said he was short of the runway by about 200 feet and ended up stalling the aircraft and impacting hard.

Damage to the aircraft consisted of crush damage to the nose section including the engine and firewall, forward belly, and the right cockpit area. In addition, the outer portions of both wings and the tail cone were bent and buckled.

The Utah state policeman, who was first on scene, stated that he could find no evidence of fuel in either fuel tank, and the aircraft owner said only a few drops of fuel came from the carburetor at the accident site.

Both fuel tanks remained intact and the fuel fittings were intact and undamaged. Residual (unusable) fuel of about 1.5 gallons was found in each tank during recovery of the aircraft.

According to the aircraft information manual, on a standard day at 8,000 feet above mean sea level (msl) the engine will burn approximately 8 gallons per hour in cruise flight at 2,600 rpm engine speed. The actual fuel quantity on board when the flight started is unknown.