ERA18LA041

The pilot was conducting an instrument flight rules cross-country flight. While descending out of 8,000 ft, the airplane's engine lost total power. The pilot attempted to divert to a nearby airport; however, there were strong headwinds and the airplane would not glide all the way to the airport, so he attempted to land in a field. The airplane collided with treetops and a fence during the off-airport landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed that the intact left-wing fuel tank only contained about 20 fluid ounces of fuel, while the impact-breached right-wing fuel tank was about 1/2 full. The fuel selector was found in the left fuel tank position. The examination did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the engine. Given this information, it is likely that the pilot exhausted the airplane's fuel supply in the left fuel tank and did not switch the fuel selector to the right tank, which resulted in the total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

On December 5, 2017, about 1400 central standard time, a Piper PA-28-180, N747KM, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Brewton, Alabama. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed for the personal flight that departed Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (PDK), Atlanta, Georgia, and was destined for Pensacola International Airport (PNS), Pensacola, Florida. The airplane was operated under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.According to the pilot, the airplane was in cruise flight, at 8,000 ft mean sea level, for "a couple hours" when the air traffic control (ATC) controller told him to descend to 4,000 ft and fly around some thunderstorms in that area. The pilot stated there were strong headwinds and he would have preferred to stay at the higher altitude, but complied with the direction from ATC. Subsequently, the engine experienced a total loss of power, and he notified ATC that he wanted to divert to Brewton Municipal Airport (12J), Brewton, Alabama. The pilot further stated that due to the strong headwind, he knew the airplane was not going to be able to glide to 12J, so he attempted to land in a field. During the approach to the field, the airplane collided with some tree tops and landed hard in the field. During the roll-out, the airplane contacted a fence post, which damaged the right wing. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane sustained damage to the landing gear fairings, right side of the fuselage, firewall, and right wing leading edge. There was additional damage to the horizontal stabilator, propeller and the right-wing fuel tank was breached and leaking fuel. The right-wing fuel tank was approximately ½ full. The left-wing fuel tank, which was undamaged, contained approximately 20 fluid ounces of fuel. One ounce of fuel was recovered from the firewall mounted fuel strainer bowl. The fuel selector valve was found in the left fuel tank position. The FAA inspector examined the engine and did not find any preimpact mechanical deficiencies that would have precluded normal operation.