Narrative:

At 3000 ft MSL (descending from 8500 ft to clear the sfo class B) and at the end of a 3 1/2 hour flight from santa maria, I radioed ahead to the cloverdale airport unicom. Believing I was only 5 mi south of the airport, I transmitted such and asked for current runway conditions and to verify if they were open for gas on this day. Replied that runway 32 was in use and winds were calm and yes, they were open for gas today. As it turned out, my step-brother, who I was to pick up and bring back to santa maria, was in the airport office at the time awaiting my arrival. This was my first cross country flight in my own plane and I was anxious to land. It would be about 45 mins later that he was to hear from me again as I landed on the median strip of the 101 freeway about 13 mi south of cloverdale. I had become confused by the visual cues on where cloverdale airport was located and where I was in reference to it. As it turned out, I was looking for the airport's location in the city of healdsburg which is about 12 NM south of cloverdale airport. The california airport book showed cloverdale airport between the 101 freeway and the russian river with lumber mills nearby. The healdsburg airport has similar cues (river, 101 and lumber mills) on the opposite side of the freeway. Not finding a visual match for the cloverdale airport's picture in the airport directory, I circled for approximately 35 mins between windsor and healdsburg trying to spot the airport on the east side of the freeway. I now realize I should have stuck to cross radial VOR fixes for my position along the 101 freeway as I had used earlier in the flight and not to have been confused by the visual references. At approximately XX55, when banking on a turn to head south again above the 101 freeway, the engine sputtered. Believing I had 2 hours reserve, I hadn't been checking the fuel gauges which now, of course, were showing empty. I had left santa maria with full tanks and a WX briefing (have slip and FBO verification) and my flitesoft computer calculations with duat winds inserted showed a do-able non-stop flight with plenty of reserve. Not wanting to risk trying to make the sonoma county airport in the distance, I then looked for the safest place to put the plane down. While the engine still sputtered intermittently, I noticed a 45 ft wide clear patch of grass median between the n- and sbound 101 lanes. I cut what remaining power I had and flared to a landing on the soft grass. I was clear of traffic from both directions and was never in danger to motorists (see picture). There was no damage to the plane or me as well. After I landed and explained to stopped motorists that I was ok, I called 911 from my cellular phone to report what had happened. The chp had already heard from passing motorists and I was told cars were already dispatched. When the chp arrived, they made sure I had all the licenses and was a current pilot (I was) and had me call the supervisor at the oakland flight watch. I explained to him what had happened and that there were no injuries or damage and after leaving phone numbers where I could be reached, he said they would be in touch with me if they needed further information. I told the chp initially that it would probably be best to winch the plane onto a flatbed truck and taken to the nearest airport. As they were checking on this, they found out that the wings would have to be taken off to narrow the plane as it went through the streets to the airport. They then asked if it could take off if I had fuel on the stretch of freeway where I was that was clear of power lines and bridges. Walking off the distance from where I could run up the plane over to the first set of wires over the freeway, I determined that it was a more than adequate distance to take off from right there. The chp then called for a fuel truck to come over from the sonoma airport. I bought 15 gallons of gas from the driver of the fuel truck and had the mud on the wheels of the plane hosed off by a fire truck called to the scene. I then did a run-up and accomplished a takeoff in the sbound lane of the freeway. I flew to cloverdale, spent some time with my brother and then flew back to santa maria that afternoon. Interestingly enough, when we calculated our fuel burn after landing in santa maria, we had averaged 9.72 gallons/hour on the flight back with a tailwind. This was 15 percent higher than the 8.44 gallons/hour predicted by the flight software for a flight with a strong headwind factored in. Lost: I realize now, I should have not just looked for the visual cues for my location. The russian river snakes along both sides of 101 all through that area with many lumber mills dotting the landscape. I should have kept navigating using xradials from adjacent vors and then begun looking down for an airport. I was unfamiliar with the area and the destination airport. This, coupled with the fact I was a low time pilot with my most recent cross country flight occurring in a rented plane in aug/92. Had I been a little calmer, I could have even asked for radar vectors to cloverdale from center after admitting I was lost. Notwithstanding, there's no excuse for getting lost in an airplane. Out of fuel: I didn't know my own airplane. The fuel burn mentioned by the seller and that listed in the pilots operating handbook and even the default cessna 172 burn/hour figures used by the flight planning software are not and should never be substitutes for knowing your individual plane's consumption of fuel under different flying circumstances. With hindsight, I could have merely divided the gallons used by the time flying of my short flts around my home area and had a much better handle on my plane's gas usage for planning such a long cross country trip. I could have also had some training in fuel mixture leaning as I flew the trip full rich. I had read where you could damage your engine by overheating it if you didn't know what you were doing. Notwithstanding, there's no excuse for running out of gas in an airplane. Lesson learned: know your abilities and limitations, know your airplane and know your position at all times.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PLT OF AN SMA SEL MADE AN OFF ARPT FORCED LNDG AFTER BECOMING LOST AND THE ENG LOST PWR DUE TO FUEL EXHAUSTION.

Narrative: AT 3000 FT MSL (DSNDING FROM 8500 FT TO CLR THE SFO CLASS B) AND AT THE END OF A 3 1/2 HR FLT FROM SANTA MARIA, I RADIOED AHEAD TO THE CLOVERDALE ARPT UNICOM. BELIEVING I WAS ONLY 5 MI S OF THE ARPT, I XMITTED SUCH AND ASKED FOR CURRENT RWY CONDITIONS AND TO VERIFY IF THEY WERE OPEN FOR GAS ON THIS DAY. REPLIED THAT RWY 32 WAS IN USE AND WINDS WERE CALM AND YES, THEY WERE OPEN FOR GAS TODAY. AS IT TURNED OUT, MY STEP-BROTHER, WHO I WAS TO PICK UP AND BRING BACK TO SANTA MARIA, WAS IN THE ARPT OFFICE AT THE TIME AWAITING MY ARR. THIS WAS MY FIRST XCOUNTRY FLT IN MY OWN PLANE AND I WAS ANXIOUS TO LAND. IT WOULD BE ABOUT 45 MINS LATER THAT HE WAS TO HEAR FROM ME AGAIN AS I LANDED ON THE MEDIAN STRIP OF THE 101 FREEWAY ABOUT 13 MI S OF CLOVERDALE. I HAD BECOME CONFUSED BY THE VISUAL CUES ON WHERE CLOVERDALE ARPT WAS LOCATED AND WHERE I WAS IN REF TO IT. AS IT TURNED OUT, I WAS LOOKING FOR THE ARPT'S LOCATION IN THE CITY OF HEALDSBURG WHICH IS ABOUT 12 NM S OF CLOVERDALE ARPT. THE CALIFORNIA ARPT BOOK SHOWED CLOVERDALE ARPT BTWN THE 101 FREEWAY AND THE RUSSIAN RIVER WITH LUMBER MILLS NEARBY. THE HEALDSBURG ARPT HAS SIMILAR CUES (RIVER, 101 AND LUMBER MILLS) ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE FREEWAY. NOT FINDING A VISUAL MATCH FOR THE CLOVERDALE ARPT'S PICTURE IN THE ARPT DIRECTORY, I CIRCLED FOR APPROX 35 MINS BTWN WINDSOR AND HEALDSBURG TRYING TO SPOT THE ARPT ON THE E SIDE OF THE FREEWAY. I NOW REALIZE I SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO CROSS RADIAL VOR FIXES FOR MY POS ALONG THE 101 FREEWAY AS I HAD USED EARLIER IN THE FLT AND NOT TO HAVE BEEN CONFUSED BY THE VISUAL REFS. AT APPROX XX55, WHEN BANKING ON A TURN TO HEAD S AGAIN ABOVE THE 101 FREEWAY, THE ENG SPUTTERED. BELIEVING I HAD 2 HRS RESERVE, I HADN'T BEEN CHKING THE FUEL GAUGES WHICH NOW, OF COURSE, WERE SHOWING EMPTY. I HAD LEFT SANTA MARIA WITH FULL TANKS AND A WX BRIEFING (HAVE SLIP AND FBO VERIFICATION) AND MY FLITESOFT COMPUTER CALCULATIONS WITH DUAT WINDS INSERTED SHOWED A DO-ABLE NON-STOP FLT WITH PLENTY OF RESERVE. NOT WANTING TO RISK TRYING TO MAKE THE SONOMA COUNTY ARPT IN THE DISTANCE, I THEN LOOKED FOR THE SAFEST PLACE TO PUT THE PLANE DOWN. WHILE THE ENG STILL SPUTTERED INTERMITTENTLY, I NOTICED A 45 FT WIDE CLR PATCH OF GRASS MEDIAN BTWN THE N- AND SBOUND 101 LANES. I CUT WHAT REMAINING PWR I HAD AND FLARED TO A LNDG ON THE SOFT GRASS. I WAS CLR OF TFC FROM BOTH DIRECTIONS AND WAS NEVER IN DANGER TO MOTORISTS (SEE PICTURE). THERE WAS NO DAMAGE TO THE PLANE OR ME AS WELL. AFTER I LANDED AND EXPLAINED TO STOPPED MOTORISTS THAT I WAS OK, I CALLED 911 FROM MY CELLULAR PHONE TO RPT WHAT HAD HAPPENED. THE CHP HAD ALREADY HEARD FROM PASSING MOTORISTS AND I WAS TOLD CARS WERE ALREADY DISPATCHED. WHEN THE CHP ARRIVED, THEY MADE SURE I HAD ALL THE LICENSES AND WAS A CURRENT PLT (I WAS) AND HAD ME CALL THE SUPVR AT THE OAKLAND FLT WATCH. I EXPLAINED TO HIM WHAT HAD HAPPENED AND THAT THERE WERE NO INJURIES OR DAMAGE AND AFTER LEAVING PHONE NUMBERS WHERE I COULD BE REACHED, HE SAID THEY WOULD BE IN TOUCH WITH ME IF THEY NEEDED FURTHER INFO. I TOLD THE CHP INITIALLY THAT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE BEST TO WINCH THE PLANE ONTO A FLATBED TRUCK AND TAKEN TO THE NEAREST ARPT. AS THEY WERE CHKING ON THIS, THEY FOUND OUT THAT THE WINGS WOULD HAVE TO BE TAKEN OFF TO NARROW THE PLANE AS IT WENT THROUGH THE STREETS TO THE ARPT. THEY THEN ASKED IF IT COULD TAKE OFF IF I HAD FUEL ON THE STRETCH OF FREEWAY WHERE I WAS THAT WAS CLR OF PWR LINES AND BRIDGES. WALKING OFF THE DISTANCE FROM WHERE I COULD RUN UP THE PLANE OVER TO THE FIRST SET OF WIRES OVER THE FREEWAY, I DETERMINED THAT IT WAS A MORE THAN ADEQUATE DISTANCE TO TAKE OFF FROM RIGHT THERE. THE CHP THEN CALLED FOR A FUEL TRUCK TO COME OVER FROM THE SONOMA ARPT. I BOUGHT 15 GALLONS OF GAS FROM THE DRIVER OF THE FUEL TRUCK AND HAD THE MUD ON THE WHEELS OF THE PLANE HOSED OFF BY A FIRE TRUCK CALLED TO THE SCENE. I THEN DID A RUN-UP AND ACCOMPLISHED A TKOF IN THE SBOUND LANE OF THE FREEWAY. I FLEW TO CLOVERDALE, SPENT SOME TIME WITH MY BROTHER AND THEN FLEW BACK TO SANTA MARIA THAT AFTERNOON. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, WHEN WE CALCULATED OUR FUEL BURN AFTER LNDG IN SANTA MARIA, WE HAD AVERAGED 9.72 GALLONS/HR ON THE FLT BACK WITH A TAILWIND. THIS WAS 15 PERCENT HIGHER THAN THE 8.44 GALLONS/HR PREDICTED BY THE FLT SOFTWARE FOR A FLT WITH A STRONG HEADWIND FACTORED IN. LOST: I REALIZE NOW, I SHOULD HAVE NOT JUST LOOKED FOR THE VISUAL CUES FOR MY LOCATION. THE RUSSIAN RIVER SNAKES ALONG BOTH SIDES OF 101 ALL THROUGH THAT AREA WITH MANY LUMBER MILLS DOTTING THE LANDSCAPE. I SHOULD HAVE KEPT NAVING USING XRADIALS FROM ADJACENT VORS AND THEN BEGUN LOOKING DOWN FOR AN ARPT. I WAS UNFAMILIAR WITH THE AREA AND THE DEST ARPT. THIS, COUPLED WITH THE FACT I WAS A LOW TIME PLT WITH MY MOST RECENT XCOUNTRY FLT OCCURRING IN A RENTED PLANE IN AUG/92. HAD I BEEN A LITTLE CALMER, I COULD HAVE EVEN ASKED FOR RADAR VECTORS TO CLOVERDALE FROM CTR AFTER ADMITTING I WAS LOST. NOTWITHSTANDING, THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR GETTING LOST IN AN AIRPLANE. OUT OF FUEL: I DIDN'T KNOW MY OWN AIRPLANE. THE FUEL BURN MENTIONED BY THE SELLER AND THAT LISTED IN THE PLTS OPERATING HANDBOOK AND EVEN THE DEFAULT CESSNA 172 BURN/HR FIGURES USED BY THE FLT PLANNING SOFTWARE ARE NOT AND SHOULD NEVER BE SUBSTITUTES FOR KNOWING YOUR INDIVIDUAL PLANE'S CONSUMPTION OF FUEL UNDER DIFFERENT FLYING CIRCUMSTANCES. WITH HINDSIGHT, I COULD HAVE MERELY DIVIDED THE GALLONS USED BY THE TIME FLYING OF MY SHORT FLTS AROUND MY HOME AREA AND HAD A MUCH BETTER HANDLE ON MY PLANE'S GAS USAGE FOR PLANNING SUCH A LONG XCOUNTRY TRIP. I COULD HAVE ALSO HAD SOME TRAINING IN FUEL MIXTURE LEANING AS I FLEW THE TRIP FULL RICH. I HAD READ WHERE YOU COULD DAMAGE YOUR ENG BY OVERHEATING IT IF YOU DIDN'T KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING. NOTWITHSTANDING, THERE'S NO EXCUSE FOR RUNNING OUT OF GAS IN AN AIRPLANE. LESSON LEARNED: KNOW YOUR ABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS, KNOW YOUR AIRPLANE AND KNOW YOUR POS AT ALL TIMES.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.