N65615Cessna 172P · 1982

The pilot departed for the visual flight rules cross-country flight with about 12 gallons of fuel in each fuel tank for the planned 1 hour and 40-minute flight. She reported that while enroute the fuel gauges were reading “low” and were fluctuating. Closer to the destination, the fuel gauges indicated that more fuel was present in the right fuel tank, so the pilot moved the fuel selector from the “both” position to the “right” position. About 1.5 hours into the flight, while flying at an altitude of about 2,000 feet above ground level and while being provided with radar vectors to the airport traffic pattern at the destination airport, the engine “started sputtering and got quiet.” The pilot attempted to restart the engine, but was unsuccessful, and she subsequently performed a forced landing in a field. The impact with the ground resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. Post-accident examination of the airplane found that the intact right-wing fuel tank was empty, that the intact left-wing fuel tank had about 6 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel remaining, and that the fuel selector was in the right tank position.

During a postaccident interview the pilot stated that when the engine lost power she did not use a checklist in her attempt to restart the engine. Review of the power loss in flight checklist found aboard the airplane revealed that the sixth item stated “fuel selector – check/switch/both.” Based on all available information, it is likely that after the pilot selected the right fuel tank earlier in the flight, its fuel supply was eventually exhausted and the engine lost power. It is also likely that, had the pilot used the checklist and selected the “both” position on the fuel selector, the fuel remaining in the left fuel tank could have restored engine power before the forced landing.