ATSB Report on Fuel Starvation Accident Cessna 152

[Guest davidh10]

Here's the link.

 

Running out of fuel still seems a too frequent reason for out-landings. This one wasn't particularly elegant and is said to have damaged two houses in the process.

 

The report has valuable information for anyone flying a Cessna 152, as the conclusions are that the usable fuel remaining as per the operations manual is not adequate under certain flying conditions.

 

The immediate cause of the engine failure was unporting of the fuel feed in one tank, where fuel load was not balanced in the two wing tanks partly because apparently that is to some extent expected with the fuel system design, but also exacerbated by steep turns and unbalanced flying.

 

Human error was also reported to be a factor, and it is probably good information for everyone.

 

 

[djpacro]

Interesting reading.

 

It mentions some issues with the wooden dipstick but not mentioned is if it is left in the tank for very long the fuel will seep up into the wood giving a higher reading than actual.

 

I wonder if CASA will now require an amendment to the unusable fuel figure in the Flight Manual as they have done recently for Airtourers (except the T-6).

 

I like this comment:

 

"Another safety factor identified with regard to fuel recording was the tendency to round figures up. The pilot believed that about 75 L of fuel was on board the aircraft; however, 80 L was recorded in the log. While weight factors may influence over estimation of loads, the criticality of having insufficient fuel is a more significant issue."