DEN99LA166

The pilot was completing a 'round robin' cross-country flight during which he did not refuel the aircraft at his intermediate stop or at any of several available airports along his return route. The aircraft suffered fuel exhaustion while on short final to land at his destination airport. An emergency landing was conducted on rough, uneven, unsuitable terrain.

On September 19, 1999, at 1400 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 172G, N4262L, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing approximately 500 feet short of runway 3 at Blake Field, Delta, Colorado. The private certificated non-instrument rated pilot and sole occupant was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for this personal cross-country flight operating under Title 14 CFR Part 91 and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at Page, Arizona, at 1150.

The flight was from Delta to Page and return. The pilot said the engine lost all power during approach, when he was approximately 500 feet from the end of the runway at his destination. He said he made an emergency landing and the aircraft main landing gear struck the top of a small hill during initial touchdown. The aircraft pitched down and traveled airborne for approximately 75 feet. The nose struck the ground and the aircraft nosed over and traveled another 30 feet in the air before impacting the ground, traveling backward inverted. The aircraft then slid another 20 feet and came to rest.

According to the pilot, fuel exhaustion may have occurred. The pilot had flown the trip without refueling the aircraft at Page. The straight-line distance between Page and Delta is approximately 200 miles. The pilot said he left Page with approximately 20 gallons of fuel aboard the aircraft, which has a total capacity of 39 gallons, with one gallon being unusable.

In his narrative, the pilot said he was cruising at 9,500 feet above mean sea level (msl). Aircraft cruise and range performance charts for 10,000 feet vary from 128 miles per hour true airspeed at a fuel flow of 7.7 gallons per hour down to 96 miles per hour true airspeed at 5.2 gallons per hour depending on the engine speed used. The aircraft was airborne approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, which at the high fuel consumption would give a fuel usage of about 17 gallons. This would leave approximately 3 gallons of fuel remaining at the destination if the 20 gallons, which the pilot said was aboard when he left Page, was an accurate estimate.

A review of route information from Page to Delta, provided by the pilot in his narrative, showed several airports along the route that sold aviation gasoline.