Cirrus Design Corp SR22 N220TX accident near Bastrop, Texas

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of the pilot's failure to properly verify the fuel load prior to departure.

NTSB analysis

The certificated airline transport pilot said he performed a pre-flight inspection and verified the oil and fuel quantities before departing. However, he was unable to visually verify the amount in the fuel tanks and instead referenced what was last manually programmed into the electronic fuel totalizer on the multi-function display, which was 42 gallons. The pilot crosschecked this amount with the fuel guages and there was a discrepancy, so he added 10 gallons of fuel to each tank. He departed with what he thought was 62 total gallons. As the pilot approached his destination, the fuel annunciator light illuminated. Shortly after this the right tank was "exhausted." He switched to the left tank, and noted 9 gallons remaining. Shortly after, the fuel annunciator illuminated again, and the engine lost total power. He made a forced landing on a narrow road and struck a barbed wire fence which substantially damaged both wings. The fuel tanks and associated plumbing were intact. When power was applied to the airplane, the left fuel guage indicated approximately 2-3 gallons and the right guage indicated 0 gallons. Data downloaded from the primary flight display unit, remote data module, and the multi-function display unit card, along with fueling records, revealed that the airplane departed with approximately 38.2 gallons and not 62 gallons. There would have been approximately 2.6 gallons total on board at the time the engine stopped producing power, which is consistent with the amount of fuel observed on the guages at the accident site.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN09LA400 for the full record.