Narrative:

The problem arose when the fuel tank was checked on monday morning. I always check the tanks in the aircraft each morning knowing the cardinal holds 48 gallons of fuel. Enough for at least 5+ hours of flight. That morning, I checked the fuel by putting my finger in the tanks and visually looked at it to see visible fuel. The left wing tank has an overflow line from the area of the left wing fuel filler neck running inside the wing to the left wingtip draining on the ground. I did check the fuel in the left wing and noticed it was full to the very top. It's my understanding that when the left wingtip overflow line is dripping, then it's safe to assume that the left wing is full. Usually after top-off it will drip a little then stop. I approached the aircraft that morning and noticed the left wing was dripping and the new asphalt had fresh fuel spilled on it. I then stuck my finger in the right wing and looked at my finger and noticed it was dry. I barely shook the wing and felt and saw a wet finger. I knew that morning I had more than enough fuel for both morning and evening flts. Morning flts run 1.9 hours, no more than 2.1 hours. Evening flts run 2.2 hours to maybe 2.4 hours. We usually burn about 9.14 gph and average about 39 gallons per day. I flew the morning traffic watch flight and I flew 1.9 hours that morning. The evening flight consisted of 1.9 hours before the aircraft ran out of fuel. I feel the aircraft should have been topped off before the evening flight and not be reliant on assuming I had plenty of fuel by checking that morning. I did not check the fuel before the evening flight. It was extremely hot that afternoon -- well over 100 degrees with the outside air temperature gauge reading of 132 degrees. Nobody else flies or flew this aircraft that day between morning and evening flts. I always check and log hobbs meter times and tach times on our flight schedule time sheet after each flight. I was flying traffic watch that afternoon and noticed the engine ran very rough for several seconds, until I switched tanks back to both after running on the right wing tank for about 1 hour after .9 hours in the air. After switching to both tanks, the engine continued on smoothly. I noticed the gas gauge on the right tank was reading over 1/4 full. I thought we had more than enough fuel and maybe the aircraft had a problem with running from the right tank alone. It was at that point that I should have headed towards the airport knowing that we were having problems. I presumed also that we will be landing shortly and seeing the right fuel gauge floating past 1/4 tank and the left wing gauge reading 2 needles wide above empty we were going to be safe to continue on since we had only .2 - .4 of an hour left in the flight before landing. I believe it was the last bit of usable fuel in the fuel lines running to the carburetor that kept us aloft for the remainder of the flight before the engine completely stopped running after the initial problem -- maybe 10-12 mins. I fly with the engine at maximum lean for the best fuel economy. After the engine quit, I knew where we would land and knew that we were out of fuel. I tried to switch tanks again and had only enough time to set up the approach for a big field located in a park that I knew was there after many traffic watch flts. I chose that spot or a golf course to land when flying in the area for my emergency landing spot. I selected full flaps and landed on the park field nose high a little over 70 KTS. I hit a rise in the terrain about 70 ft after touchdown and the aircraft became airborne again for 70 ft and then bounced over a road perpendicular to our path. The adjoining curb from the road damaged the nose gear slightly and the aircraft came to rest just against a small 3 inch in diameter tree on the other side of the road that caused slight damage to the right wing leading edge. Nobody was injured. Other damage to the aircraft included the left wing flap caused by a small metal pole that ripped a hole in the forward portion of the flap, and the left rear elevator forward tip was slightly damaged by the same pole. The engine crankcase oil was leaking out and noticed after it stopped leaking that it showed to have 3 quarts left indicated by the dipstick. My corrective action will be to top off after every flight and not assume that just because the aircraft holds 5+ hours of fuel that I will be safe to fly another 2.5 hours. It is my opinion that this particular aircraft could have possibly, during the day, have had a drain xfer of fuel from the right wing to the left wing and possibly draining out on the ground through the overflow vent line in the left wing throughout the hot day it sat on the ramp. I also understand that the cessna cardinal has bladder tanks that are very wide and not very deep giving me a false sense of fuel quantity. This particular aircraft also has a small leak on the inboard portion under the left wing in the middle very close to the fuselage visible by blue dye in the fuel causing the white paint to turn brown, then black after a period of time. It never did drip from that point, but appeared to look like black tar underneath the wing definitely caused by a small persistent fuel leak, and maybe due to the excessive heat that day and the problem with the leak under the wing and the tanks draining from one side to the other, a possibility that there could be more of a chance for the fuel to evaporate that hot day in the wing leads me to believe that this could have caused the fuel problem that day. Or maybe it is the shape of the bladder tanks in this particular type of aircraft that led me to falsely believe the aircraft had more fuel than it actually did. Either way, I should have topped off first. I also feel that I landed past my point of intended landing because I came in a little high and a little fast. The end result was when I touched down I was not able to effectively use the brakes on a grass field. The terrain and the road which could have been avoided through proper speed management early in the approach. I only had 1 chance at the approach because the field on the other side of the road that I was approaching had a lot of people playing volleyball and walking in that field. The end result was that I pushed the nose down to land quicker right after the main gear touched the ground in a nose high attitude. The excessive ground speed for the allowed terrain made the aircraft bounce over the ground at a high rate of speed. There was over 600 ft of open field behind the plane after the aircraft came to a stop. On the approach end of the field was an 80 ft bridge with light poles that are 40 ft in ht above the bridge. Better planning and a short field approach method should have been used for better speed management.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A TFC RPT PLT RAN OUT OF FUEL AND DAMAGED THE ACFT LNDG IN A FIELD NEAR AUS.

Narrative: THE PROB AROSE WHEN THE FUEL TANK WAS CHKED ON MONDAY MORNING. I ALWAYS CHK THE TANKS IN THE ACFT EACH MORNING KNOWING THE CARDINAL HOLDS 48 GALLONS OF FUEL. ENOUGH FOR AT LEAST 5+ HRS OF FLT. THAT MORNING, I CHKED THE FUEL BY PUTTING MY FINGER IN THE TANKS AND VISUALLY LOOKED AT IT TO SEE VISIBLE FUEL. THE L WING TANK HAS AN OVERFLOW LINE FROM THE AREA OF THE L WING FUEL FILLER NECK RUNNING INSIDE THE WING TO THE L WINGTIP DRAINING ON THE GND. I DID CHK THE FUEL IN THE L WING AND NOTICED IT WAS FULL TO THE VERY TOP. IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WHEN THE L WINGTIP OVERFLOW LINE IS DRIPPING, THEN IT'S SAFE TO ASSUME THAT THE L WING IS FULL. USUALLY AFTER TOP-OFF IT WILL DRIP A LITTLE THEN STOP. I APCHED THE ACFT THAT MORNING AND NOTICED THE L WING WAS DRIPPING AND THE NEW ASPHALT HAD FRESH FUEL SPILLED ON IT. I THEN STUCK MY FINGER IN THE R WING AND LOOKED AT MY FINGER AND NOTICED IT WAS DRY. I BARELY SHOOK THE WING AND FELT AND SAW A WET FINGER. I KNEW THAT MORNING I HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH FUEL FOR BOTH MORNING AND EVENING FLTS. MORNING FLTS RUN 1.9 HRS, NO MORE THAN 2.1 HRS. EVENING FLTS RUN 2.2 HRS TO MAYBE 2.4 HRS. WE USUALLY BURN ABOUT 9.14 GPH AND AVERAGE ABOUT 39 GALLONS PER DAY. I FLEW THE MORNING TFC WATCH FLT AND I FLEW 1.9 HRS THAT MORNING. THE EVENING FLT CONSISTED OF 1.9 HRS BEFORE THE ACFT RAN OUT OF FUEL. I FEEL THE ACFT SHOULD HAVE BEEN TOPPED OFF BEFORE THE EVENING FLT AND NOT BE RELIANT ON ASSUMING I HAD PLENTY OF FUEL BY CHKING THAT MORNING. I DID NOT CHK THE FUEL BEFORE THE EVENING FLT. IT WAS EXTREMELY HOT THAT AFTERNOON -- WELL OVER 100 DEGS WITH THE OUTSIDE AIR TEMP GAUGE READING OF 132 DEGS. NOBODY ELSE FLIES OR FLEW THIS ACFT THAT DAY BTWN MORNING AND EVENING FLTS. I ALWAYS CHK AND LOG HOBBS METER TIMES AND TACH TIMES ON OUR FLT SCHEDULE TIME SHEET AFTER EACH FLT. I WAS FLYING TFC WATCH THAT AFTERNOON AND NOTICED THE ENG RAN VERY ROUGH FOR SEVERAL SECONDS, UNTIL I SWITCHED TANKS BACK TO BOTH AFTER RUNNING ON THE R WING TANK FOR ABOUT 1 HR AFTER .9 HRS IN THE AIR. AFTER SWITCHING TO BOTH TANKS, THE ENG CONTINUED ON SMOOTHLY. I NOTICED THE GAS GAUGE ON THE R TANK WAS READING OVER 1/4 FULL. I THOUGHT WE HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH FUEL AND MAYBE THE ACFT HAD A PROB WITH RUNNING FROM THE R TANK ALONE. IT WAS AT THAT POINT THAT I SHOULD HAVE HEADED TOWARDS THE ARPT KNOWING THAT WE WERE HAVING PROBS. I PRESUMED ALSO THAT WE WILL BE LNDG SHORTLY AND SEEING THE R FUEL GAUGE FLOATING PAST 1/4 TANK AND THE L WING GAUGE READING 2 NEEDLES WIDE ABOVE EMPTY WE WERE GOING TO BE SAFE TO CONTINUE ON SINCE WE HAD ONLY .2 - .4 OF AN HR LEFT IN THE FLT BEFORE LNDG. I BELIEVE IT WAS THE LAST BIT OF USABLE FUEL IN THE FUEL LINES RUNNING TO THE CARB THAT KEPT US ALOFT FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FLT BEFORE THE ENG COMPLETELY STOPPED RUNNING AFTER THE INITIAL PROB -- MAYBE 10-12 MINS. I FLY WITH THE ENG AT MAX LEAN FOR THE BEST FUEL ECONOMY. AFTER THE ENG QUIT, I KNEW WHERE WE WOULD LAND AND KNEW THAT WE WERE OUT OF FUEL. I TRIED TO SWITCH TANKS AGAIN AND HAD ONLY ENOUGH TIME TO SET UP THE APCH FOR A BIG FIELD LOCATED IN A PARK THAT I KNEW WAS THERE AFTER MANY TFC WATCH FLTS. I CHOSE THAT SPOT OR A GOLF COURSE TO LAND WHEN FLYING IN THE AREA FOR MY EMER LNDG SPOT. I SELECTED FULL FLAPS AND LANDED ON THE PARK FIELD NOSE HIGH A LITTLE OVER 70 KTS. I HIT A RISE IN THE TERRAIN ABOUT 70 FT AFTER TOUCHDOWN AND THE ACFT BECAME AIRBORNE AGAIN FOR 70 FT AND THEN BOUNCED OVER A ROAD PERPENDICULAR TO OUR PATH. THE ADJOINING CURB FROM THE ROAD DAMAGED THE NOSE GEAR SLIGHTLY AND THE ACFT CAME TO REST JUST AGAINST A SMALL 3 INCH IN DIAMETER TREE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD THAT CAUSED SLIGHT DAMAGE TO THE R WING LEADING EDGE. NOBODY WAS INJURED. OTHER DAMAGE TO THE ACFT INCLUDED THE L WING FLAP CAUSED BY A SMALL METAL POLE THAT RIPPED A HOLE IN THE FORWARD PORTION OF THE FLAP, AND THE L REAR ELEVATOR FORWARD TIP WAS SLIGHTLY DAMAGED BY THE SAME POLE. THE ENG CRANKCASE OIL WAS LEAKING OUT AND NOTICED AFTER IT STOPPED LEAKING THAT IT SHOWED TO HAVE 3 QUARTS LEFT INDICATED BY THE DIPSTICK. MY CORRECTIVE ACTION WILL BE TO TOP OFF AFTER EVERY FLT AND NOT ASSUME THAT JUST BECAUSE THE ACFT HOLDS 5+ HRS OF FUEL THAT I WILL BE SAFE TO FLY ANOTHER 2.5 HRS. IT IS MY OPINION THAT THIS PARTICULAR ACFT COULD HAVE POSSIBLY, DURING THE DAY, HAVE HAD A DRAIN XFER OF FUEL FROM THE R WING TO THE L WING AND POSSIBLY DRAINING OUT ON THE GND THROUGH THE OVERFLOW VENT LINE IN THE L WING THROUGHOUT THE HOT DAY IT SAT ON THE RAMP. I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT THE CESSNA CARDINAL HAS BLADDER TANKS THAT ARE VERY WIDE AND NOT VERY DEEP GIVING ME A FALSE SENSE OF FUEL QUANTITY. THIS PARTICULAR ACFT ALSO HAS A SMALL LEAK ON THE INBOARD PORTION UNDER THE L WING IN THE MIDDLE VERY CLOSE TO THE FUSELAGE VISIBLE BY BLUE DYE IN THE FUEL CAUSING THE WHITE PAINT TO TURN BROWN, THEN BLACK AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME. IT NEVER DID DRIP FROM THAT POINT, BUT APPEARED TO LOOK LIKE BLACK TAR UNDERNEATH THE WING DEFINITELY CAUSED BY A SMALL PERSISTENT FUEL LEAK, AND MAYBE DUE TO THE EXCESSIVE HEAT THAT DAY AND THE PROB WITH THE LEAK UNDER THE WING AND THE TANKS DRAINING FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER, A POSSIBILITY THAT THERE COULD BE MORE OF A CHANCE FOR THE FUEL TO EVAPORATE THAT HOT DAY IN THE WING LEADS ME TO BELIEVE THAT THIS COULD HAVE CAUSED THE FUEL PROB THAT DAY. OR MAYBE IT IS THE SHAPE OF THE BLADDER TANKS IN THIS PARTICULAR TYPE OF ACFT THAT LED ME TO FALSELY BELIEVE THE ACFT HAD MORE FUEL THAN IT ACTUALLY DID. EITHER WAY, I SHOULD HAVE TOPPED OFF FIRST. I ALSO FEEL THAT I LANDED PAST MY POINT OF INTENDED LNDG BECAUSE I CAME IN A LITTLE HIGH AND A LITTLE FAST. THE END RESULT WAS WHEN I TOUCHED DOWN I WAS NOT ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY USE THE BRAKES ON A GRASS FIELD. THE TERRAIN AND THE ROAD WHICH COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED THROUGH PROPER SPD MGMNT EARLY IN THE APCH. I ONLY HAD 1 CHANCE AT THE APCH BECAUSE THE FIELD ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD THAT I WAS APCHING HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE PLAYING VOLLEYBALL AND WALKING IN THAT FIELD. THE END RESULT WAS THAT I PUSHED THE NOSE DOWN TO LAND QUICKER RIGHT AFTER THE MAIN GEAR TOUCHED THE GND IN A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE. THE EXCESSIVE GND SPD FOR THE ALLOWED TERRAIN MADE THE ACFT BOUNCE OVER THE GND AT A HIGH RATE OF SPD. THERE WAS OVER 600 FT OF OPEN FIELD BEHIND THE PLANE AFTER THE ACFT CAME TO A STOP. ON THE APCH END OF THE FIELD WAS AN 80 FT BRIDGE WITH LIGHT POLES THAT ARE 40 FT IN HT ABOVE THE BRIDGE. BETTER PLANNING AND A SHORT FIELD APCH METHOD SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED FOR BETTER SPD MGMNT.

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.