C152 pilot reports engine failure due to fuel exhaustion during second night approach to an uncontro...

Attributes
ACN	924210
Time
Date	201011
Local Time Of Day	0001-0600
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Night
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Cessna 152
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Landing Initial Approach
Flight Plan	VFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Fuel System
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Multiengine
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 51.6 Flight Crew Total 759 Flight Crew Type 279.4
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue

Narrative:

Cross country flight with cruise fuel burn rate of 5.4 gph at 4000 ft MSL used for fuel calculation. Flight would be conducted at 4500 ft MSL and 5500 ft MSL. Engine failure; likely due to fuel starvation; occurred on approach. First approach terminated due to difficulty in locating low-intensity runway lighting. Forced landing in field approximately 2 NM short of runway. No injuries. Insignificant property damage. Minimal aircraft damage. FAA inspectors found pilot actions were 'not intentional' and 'not grossly negligent.' most significant contributing factor: 1979 model cessna 152 had a considerably higher fuel burn rate than shown in tables and used in fuel calculation. Corrective action: FAA could emphasize more during private pilot training that actual fuel burn rate should be monitored over a series of flights and compared to the published values. The pilot should make any adjustments in his fuel calculations required and do this for any aircraft flown routinely.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C152 pilot reports engine failure due to fuel exhaustion during second night approach to an uncontrolled airport. Off airport landing ensues with minimal damage. Fuel consumption rate was higher than calculated from the Cessna 152 pilot handbook.

Narrative: Cross country flight with cruise fuel burn rate of 5.4 GPH at 4000 FT MSL used for fuel calculation. Flight would be conducted at 4500 FT MSL and 5500 FT MSL. Engine failure; likely due to fuel starvation; occurred on approach. First approach terminated due to difficulty in locating low-intensity runway lighting. Forced landing in field approximately 2 NM short of runway. No injuries. Insignificant property damage. Minimal aircraft damage. FAA Inspectors found pilot actions were 'not intentional' and 'not grossly negligent.' Most significant contributing factor: 1979 Model Cessna 152 had a considerably higher fuel burn rate than shown in tables and used in fuel calculation. Corrective action: FAA could emphasize more during private pilot training that actual fuel burn rate should be monitored over a series of flights and compared to the published values. The pilot should make any adjustments in his fuel calculations required and do this for any aircraft flown routinely.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.

C152 pilot reports engine failure due to fuel exhaustion during second night approach to an uncontrolled airport. Off airport landing ensues with minimal damage. Fuel consumption rate was higher than calculated from the cessna 152 pilot handbook.