NYC02LA078

The pilot had been airborne for over 2 hours when he attempted to return to his departure airport. He reported that he set the course selector on the VOR receiver to 330 degrees, for the 26 NM return flight to his departure airport. However, the airplane appeared to track on a heading of 030 degrees. The pilot continued to track on that heading for about 70 nautical miles. By this time he realized he was lost, and noticed the airplane was low on fuel. He contacted the Buffalo Flight Service Station, (FSS), for assistance; however, they were unable to identify the airplane. The FSS asked the pilot to climb, to help in its identification. While climbing the engine began to lose power, and run rough. The FSS gave the pilot a list of procedures to check. The pilot had climbed to about 3,000 feet; however, with the loss in engine power, the airplane started to descend. Passing through about 1,500 feet, the engine shuddered and lost all power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, and performed a forced landing into an area with scattered trees. The airplane struck a tree, and came to rest inverted. The FAA inspector reported there was no fuel in the fuel tanks, and the line between the fuel strainer bowl to the carburetor. There was no sign of a fuel leak on the airplane, and no sign of a fuel spill at the accident site. The pilot stated that he did not lean the mixture during the entire flight that lasted about 3 hours. The VOR receiver was found tuned to the 030 degree radial.

On March 28, 2002, about 1700 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150M, N3006V, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Salisbury Center, New York. The certificated private pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight that originated from Hamilton Municipal Airport (H30), Hamilton, New York. No flight plan was filed for the flight that was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to the pilot, he departed Hamilton about 1400, and planned to over-fly Elmira, New York, with no landing, and return to Hamilton. As the airplane neared Ithaca, New York, he changed course to Binghamton, New York. He over flew Binghamton, and then headed toward the Rockdale VOR, which he was receiving satisfactorily for navigation. After Rockdale VOR, he planned to track outbound on the 330 degree radial back towards Hamilton, a distance of 26 nautical miles (NM).

The pilot stated:

"...We flew directly over Rockdale [VOR]. I remember...watching the flag indicator flip. I tried to pick up Georgetown VOR but couldn't; so I decided to fly the 330 [degree] radial to Georgetown. I knew we should be going North - - almost directly North...I dialed in 330 [degrees] on the VOR and flew the indicator...I noticed that we were flying 030 [degrees] according to the CDI. I glanced up and verified 330 [degrees] on the VOR selector; at this point I was perplexed and very frustrated. Flying north meant ignoring the NAV stuff and interpreting the sectional; how could the NAV stuff be wrong? I stayed with the radial. After a while I made the decision to call for help...."

The pilot stated that the fuel gauges had decreased to about 1/4 on each side, and he contacted the Buffalo Flight Service Station (FSS) for navigational assistance. The FSS was unable to identify the airplane, and requested the pilot to climb. The pilot reported that he climbed, and as the airplane reached 3,000 feet, the engine began to lose power, and started to run rough. Still in radio contact with Buffalo FSS, he reported his situation, and the FSS specialist gave the pilot a series of "things" to check. Included was carburetor heat, which when turned on appeared to alleviate the rough running engine. At this point, the pilot elected to remain over an area where a forced landing could be conducted if needed. Also, during the time the engine was running rough, the airplane descended from about 3,000 feet, to about 1,500 feet mean sea level (MSL). The pilot said that while at 1,500 feet, the engine was, "smoother than before, but still not putting out full power," and then the engine shuddered again, and stopped. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, and performed a forced landing into an area with scattered trees. As the airplane neared the ground, it struck a tree and nosed over.

During an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration, (FAA), inspector, the pilot stated that he was lost, and let too much time go by before using the radio to call for help. He stated he was familiar with flying radials to and from a VOR, and said he wanted to fly from the Rockdale VOR toward Hamilton on the 330 degree radial. The pilot also stated that he didn't have the fuel tanks "topped off" when the flight began, and that he did not lean the mixture during the flight that lasted about 3 hours.

The FAA inspector further stated that his examination of the OBS course selector, revealed that it was set on a course of 030 degrees.

According to the FAA inspector, examination of the airplane revealed no fuel in both fuel tanks, and no fuel in the fuel line from the fuel strainer bowl to the carburetor. There was no evidence of a fuel leak from the airplane, and there were no signs of a fuel spill at the accident sight. Both fuel caps were found intact, and secured to both the fuel tanks. There was minor damage to the tail section, and damage to the engine cowling at the front right hand side. The left wing was broken away from the fuselage, and the right wing was attached and damaged. The left main landing gear was partially ripped out, and bent back from the fuselage.

Furthermore, the FAA inspector stated that the engine was taken to Biddeford Airport, (B19) Maine, and disassembled. The engine was found intact with no signs pre-impact damage. The fuel system and components were found to be intact with no visible damage from the firewall fuel strainer bowl, fuel line, and carburetor. The fuel strainer was removed, and contained about 6 drops of fuel.

The accident site was located 73 NM from the Rockdale VOR on a heading of 034 degrees, and 42 NM from Hamilton on a heading of 063 degrees.