Narrative:

A neighboring tower called over the etvs (enhanced terminal voice switch) and said there was an aircraft; a cherokee; 20 miles northwest of the airfield with minimum fuel. They said the aircraft doesn't want to declare an emergency but wanted no delay. The cherokee; called up and I told the aircraft to proceed direct the field; as I was instructed directly by my controller in charge (controller in charge). The cherokee said he had the field in sight; and I told him the wind was calm and all runways were available and asked which runway he preferred. The cherokee asked for the right runway and I cleared him to land. The cherokee then asked if he could stay as high as possible as a precaution. He was currently at 6;900 ft. I coordinated with the neighboring tower and my controller in charge coordinated with TRACON and we were approved to have the cherokee have whatever he needed. I told him his altitude was approved as requested. The cherokee then stated he was having fuel starvation; then said to never mind. I then asked if he required any assistance. He was about 10 miles northwest of the airfield. He said to standby; and that he saw a dry wash basin that if he wasn't able to make the airfield he was going to go for the dry wash basin. I told him to continue directly towards the field; again as instructed directly by my controller in charge. He said he would continue towards the field for now. The crash phone was then activated and an emergency declared. I then asked him how much fuel left on board and how many souls on board. He said he was indicating 5 gallons and had 3 souls on board. The cherokee then reported intermittent choppiness of the engine; and a couple minutes later he said he was gliding and looking at the roads as a possible landing option. He was on about a 3-4 mile final. As he descended I asked him what road he was landing on; if it was possible to tell. When he on the ground he gave the name of the road he was on.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Tower Controller described a general aviation aircraft off field landing event due to fuel starvation.

Narrative: A neighboring Tower called over the ETVS (Enhanced Terminal Voice Switch) and said there was an aircraft; a Cherokee; 20 miles northwest of the airfield with minimum fuel. They said the aircraft doesn't want to declare an emergency but wanted no delay. The Cherokee; called up and I told the aircraft to proceed direct the field; as I was instructed directly by my CIC (Controller in Charge). The Cherokee said he had the field in sight; and I told him the wind was calm and all runways were available and asked which runway he preferred. The Cherokee asked for the right runway and I cleared him to land. The Cherokee then asked if he could stay as high as possible as a precaution. He was currently at 6;900 FT. I coordinated with the neighboring Tower and my CIC coordinated with TRACON and we were approved to have the Cherokee have whatever he needed. I told him his altitude was approved as requested. The Cherokee then stated he was having fuel starvation; then said to never mind. I then asked if he required any assistance. He was about 10 miles northwest of the airfield. He said to standby; and that he saw a dry wash basin that if he wasn't able to make the airfield he was going to go for the dry wash basin. I told him to continue directly towards the field; again as instructed directly by my CIC. He said he would continue towards the field for now. The crash phone was then activated and an emergency declared. I then asked him how much fuel left on board and how many souls on board. He said he was indicating 5 gallons and had 3 souls on board. The Cherokee then reported intermittent choppiness of the engine; and a couple minutes later he said he was gliding and looking at the roads as a possible landing option. He was on about a 3-4 mile final. As he descended I asked him what road he was landing on; if it was possible to tell. When he on the ground he gave the name of the road he was on.

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.