If pilots who ran out of fuel because of fuel exhaustion or fuel starvation had one thought in common, it was probably: “It won’t happen to me.” If no one expects to run out of fuel, then why does it happen almost twice a week?
Just as an example, here are three absurd but easily preventable culprits: improper flight planning, not stopping for fuel, and finding no fuel at the fuel stop and departing again.
Think carefully: If there’s no fuel at your fuel stop, what would you do? Could you call for service, or find another fuel stop nearby? Would you know how much fuel is really left in the tanks to safely reach the alternate location? If there’s any doubt, it’s better to stay put and figure out some way to get gas in the tanks.
Learn more and make smart choices with ASI’s interactive Google-based map that plots the locations of accidents caused by improper fuel management. Just roll over the individual icons to see basic accident details, or click a link to be taken to the full report in the ASI Accident Database. The display is scalable, and can be filtered by variables like date or aircraft type.
Check out the map today—so you don’t end up on it tomorrow.
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