What's worse: Taking longer to reach your destination because of a fuel stop, or risking your life and the life of your passengers on the thought that you "might" make it? On July 13, 2003, the pilot of a Cessna 401 and three of his passengers died after running out of fuel and ditching in the ocean less than 12 miles from their destination. Two other passengers survived. The plane sunk in 300 feet of water and has never been recovered.
The Cessna 401 was filled with 102.9 gallons of fuel in Port Angeles, Washington. The pilot also had arranged for a fuel truck to meet him in Ketchikan, Alaska, to refuel en route. The flight then left Port Angeles on an IFR flight plan to Ketchikan, with a final destination of Gustavus, Alaska, about 757 nautical miles away.
En route to Gustavus, the pilot contacted Vancouver Center and changed his destination from Ketchikan to Petersburg, Alaska, which is 100 miles past Ketchikan. Thirty minutes later, the pilot contacted Anchorage Center and again changed his destination from Petersburg to Gustavus.
Another hour progressed, and while in instrument meteorological conditions about 22 nm from Gustavus, the pilot told Anchorage Center that he was concerned about his remaining fuel. The controller asked how much fuel was remaining, and the pilot responded, "Below 5 gallons in both tanks." The pilot was told of a closer alternate airport, but the pilot chose not to divert because he was not familiar with the airport. Fifteen minutes later, the pilot radioed that he was out of gas at 4,400 feet. The left engine restarted briefly, but the flight ditched in the ocean less than 1 mile from land and 12 miles from their destination.
According to the two survivors, everyone on board momentarily lost consciousness. When they came to, there was about two feet of water in the cabin, and the aircraft was sinking. The pilot and three passengers exited the plane, but two other passengers could not. The four that got out began to swim to the nearest shore, but the pilot and one passenger became separated from the two survivors and were never found.
According to Cessna, the cruise power fuel consumption was approximately 31.4 gallons per hour. The maximum usable fuel was 140 gallons, or 4 hours and 24 minutes of endurance. The estimated total flight time after departing Port Angeles was 4 hours and 20 minutes.
The NTSB determined the cause of this accident to be the pilot's inadequate in-flight decision-making process and failure to refuel the airplane prior to fuel exhaustion.
Pilots read about accidents like this one and immediately think, "That will never happen to me--I'll never run out of gas." But the statistics tell a different story. The number of accidents caused by poor fuel management is staggering. Nearly three accidents per week are a result of pilots running out of gas or forgetting to switch tanks. The pilot highlighted in this accident not only changed his fuel stop once, but twice. He tried to push the limits of his aircraft's capabilities, and paid the ultimate price.
Accident reports can be found in ASI's accident database.
Posted Thursday, June 22, 2006 12:59:49 PM