Must be a slow news day, this made the morning news in Boise. A Cherokee ran out of gas and landed on US 20, 10 miles east of Bend OR, refueled and left 3 hours later. Interesting point is it was Initially reported to be an Alaska Airlines flight that ran out of gas. It also took county cops, state cops, ODOT, and USFS to get the plane fueled and take off again, why not call a tow truck and have them bring 10 gallons to the scene, just like when a car runs out of gas on the hiway?

http://www.ktvz.com/news/small-plane-la ... t/29613292

Glad it worked out OK, the "authorities" mighta made him pull the wings and trailer it out.
Fuel exhaustion is a bad deal...a friend of mine ran outa gas about 15 miles from home in his nice 180hp Cub (mistake #1). Then tried to land on an over-grown and cow-infested ex-airstrip when there were some nice open farm fields nearby (mistake #2). Result: a balled up $100K airplane which was then worth about $25K. Oh yeah, no insurance (mistake #3). Three strikes and you're out.

hotrod180 wrote:Glad it worked out OK, the "authorities" mighta made him pull the wings and trailer it out.
Fuel exhaustion is a bad deal...a friend of mine ran outa gas about 15 miles from home in his nice 180hp Cub (mistake #1). Then tried to land on an over-grown and cow-infested ex-airstrip when there were some nice open farm fields nearby (mistake #2). Result: a balled up $100K airplane which was then worth about $25K. Oh yeah, no insurance (mistake #3). Three strikes and you're out.

This sounds like a story I heard recently. In West Virginia? CC Top Cub?

Tracy CA to Prineville, OR is about 400 nautical straight line. I'd figure on 4 hours to allow for headwinds/deviation. I think the Cherokee 140 should have 5 hours filled to the top. Not much to plan, all he has to do is lift the caps and make sure the fuel is in the neck. He's flying a new airplane, family on board, into the night. Sunset around Bend is at 4:45pm. Runs out of gas about 20 miles short. at 7:15.

Now the part I find really strange is three hours later, at about 10:30 pm they let him take off on the highway??? Couldn't everyone have just waited for daylight? What was the hurry? At least his family took a car home.

Not many guys I know would fly a Cherokee at night over that high ground near Mt. Shasta. He should have had a full moon though as long as it was clear out.

QMDV musta helped him with fuel planning and signed them off for the highway landing and takeoff.....

Gump

Crzyivan13 wrote:

hotrod180 wrote:...........a friend of mine ran outa gas about 15 miles from home in his nice 180hp Cub (mistake #1).......

This sounds like a story I heard recently. In West Virginia? CC Top Cub?

Nope, Quilcene Washington, about two years ago, in a 1998-ish Cub Crafters ground-up rebuild.
(remember those? they kinda got lost in the shuffle after first the Top Cub, then the Sport and Carbon Cubs)

I generally try not to be too critical of others mistakes most of the time, for we all get our chance to fuck up, but fuel exhaustion during a night flight over rugged terrain with the family on board is simply inexcusable piss poor airmanship.

Glad that everybody on board didn't get killed.

Scolopax wrote:I generally try not to be too critical of others mistakes most of the time, for we all get our chance to fuck up, but fuel exhaustion during a night flight over rugged terrain with the family on board is simply inexcusable piss poor airmanship.

Glad that everybody on board didn't get killed.

Can't recall if I've mentioned this one before. I was putting my airplane in the hangar at Fort Collins Downtown a few years ago around 9 p.m., when a Cherokee 180 made several approaches to the runway and finally set down. I drove over to them. As they got out, the pilot asked me where they were--it didn't look like Cheyenne, which is where he thought they were. I told him where he was.

Long story short, they'd flown from Jackson, WY, and when the batteries in his handheld GPS gave out soon after take off, he couldn't remember how to work the VORs, so he followed the lights of the highways. That meant that they'd followed a somewhat circuitous route over some of the most inhospitable territory in Wyoming, in the dark. They'd left about 5 p.m., so they'd been in the air for about 4 hours.

He asked if he could get gas, because the gauges were showing empty, but the airport office was closed. Then he asked how far Fort Collins-Loveland airport was, so he could get gas there. Sensing that he might not have leaned properly along the flight or perhaps hadn't started with really full tanks, I looked into the right tank--couldn't see any sign of fuel. So I looked in the left tank, and no fuel was visible. I offered them my truck, so that they could drive to their home in Longmont, but he was adamant that they could fly to FNL for fuel.

Fortunately about that time, one of the airport employees returned from a cross country flight, opened up the office, and filled their tanks. A PA28-180 has 50 gallons capacity, with 48 1/2 usable. It took just short of 50 gallons to fill the airplane. All the way home that night, I had visions of what would have happened, had they tried to fly the 7 miles to FNL. I also wondered if I would have had the guts to pull my pickup in front of the airplane to keep them from trying to leave.

Here's the corker: When I was arguing with the pilot about his proposal to fly to FNL, his wife interjected, "He's a really good pilot!"

Cary

Scolopax wrote:I generally try not to be too critical of others mistakes most of the time, for we all get our chance to fuck up, but fuel exhaustion during a night flight over rugged terrain with the family on board is simply inexcusable piss poor airmanship.

Glad that everybody on board didn't get killed.

I feel the same way, too. In good weather in the Lower 48, there is simply no excuse for this.

There's also no excuse for the TV crew to be on the scene for this report and then not hang around to get footage of the takeoff!!! It was a night of disappointments...

Cary wrote:Here's the corker: When I was arguing with the pilot about his proposal to fly to FNL, his wife interjected, "He's a really good pilot!"

Cary

Wow! That's. Funny!

These types of people are out there. Some seem to get by with some pretty questionable levels of awareness. Not sure I would have tried to stop them either. It's like trying to stop a drunk you don't know from driving away from a party. It can be a little awkward trying to challenge the behavior of another adult.

Ha Ha! They're not. Welcome to curmudgeonhood.

Gump

Scolopax wrote:

Cary wrote:Here's the corker: When I was arguing with the pilot about his proposal to fly to FNL, his wife interjected, "He's a really good pilot!" Cary

Wow! That's. Funny! These types of people are out there. Some seem to get by with some pretty questionable levels of awareness.......

There's a simple explanation-- some people are idiots. And it isn't just the youngsters either-- I can cite several instances of dumbass behavior by people who are middle aged and older and who've been flying for years. I know a guy who made the TV news by running his seaplane out of fuel and having to get towed in to a local marina by a boat that happened by. When I asked him about it, he said his fuel gauges were inop but he knew he was low on fuel "so I made it a point to stay over the water". Unbelievable! Personally, when I know I'm low on fuel (regardless of the fuel gauges working or not), I make it a point to put in some gas!

There's absolutely no shortage of idiots in aviation today. Young and old. I'm afraid technology and "idiot-proofing" airplanes has just helped them live a bit longer. In the end, Mother Nature always wins and gravity and inertia prevail.

I know I am, along with a few others I know, living proof that luck often trumps stupid.

Gump

When I was a new pilot, I went to the north Las Vegas strip to visit some buds. Great flight down, with a nice 21/2hr flight .
The return trip was planed and we t/o to auburn,ca, but the headwinds were just kicking, The fuel was leaving the plane at a alarming rate(for me ).

Long story shirt, I landed at placerville , witch us about 15milrss away, to put some fuel in it. Had 3.5 on the Hobbs, so I had fuel to complete the trip, but if a go around or two had to happen, I may have not.
Big lesson . Now the same trip is flown over to Bakersfield and up the valley , to give more options. Not at night btw
Charlie

Gump, I think most of us ol bastards are in the same good luck club!!
Can't cast to many stones for sure.
Everytime I get on my high Horse it gets farther to the ground!!
GT

That was one of the best TV jobs reporting on an airplane incident I've seen. No "lucky to be alive" or other BS, just the facts and then they moved on. Just thought I'd point that out, nobody got all hysterical for a change, I wish they all were reported as calmly. The guy was still a dumb ass though. Not for running out so much, but doing it at night and with passengers

Just 1 more random thought on this incident, how long will it be before his wife flies with him again? And will she be watching the gas gauges for him and telling him how low they are?

CapnMike wrote:.... In good weather in the Lower 48, there is simply no excuse for this. ....

In the fuel-exhausted Cub crash I mentioned, the pilot was 20 miles from home when it happened, but had been down to the Oregon coast & back. There's two or three routes home he could have took, and all of them led right by airports with cheap avgas.

Just like others have said. You can't always stop stupid! I at least gave the warning to this guy....anyone want to guess??

N80288


Okay his nose strut is flat...dead flat. I let him know it was flat, he acknowledged and said "oh it's cause I came from the high country of WY." When I gave him a mechanics number, of whom would have happily come out to the field....and in fact later came out to fly himself....he took the number said thanks and that he'd be around the area so he'd get in touch. Then took off....came back later....landed and took off. I'm just waiting to show up and see it tied down with a bent firewall. You can't always stop stupid.

Everyone with a ticket has all his family and pals convinced he's a really great pilot. I've even heard people say flattering nonsense about me.

Fact is, we are all humans. And we are all idiots.