Luscombe 8 N71497 accident near Marlboro, New Jersey

Probable cause

The pilot's inadequate in-flight fuel management, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and the subsequent total loss of engine power.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot was on a local personal flight and, after flying about 1.5 hours, the engine experienced a total loss of engine power that he could not restore. He maneuvered the airplane for a forced landing in a field, but the airplane impacted the ground in a nose- and left-wing-low attitude, which resulted in substantial damage to the airframe. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no fuel remaining in the intact fuel tank and only residual fuel remaining in the fuel strainer and carburetor. The glass face of the fuel tank quantity indicator gauge was scratched and cloudy. The examination revealed no evidence of preimpact failures or malfunctions of the engine or engine accessories that would have precluded normal operation. Thus, it is likely that the pilot did not adequately manage the fuel supply during flight, and the scratched and cloudy glass face of the fuel quantity indicator gauge may have led the pilot to misinterpret how much fuel was remaining.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA16LA291 for the full record.