Ayres S2R N3298M accident near Jackson, Tennessee

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to adequately monitor his fuel supply, resulting in fuel exhaustion, a total loss of engine power, and a forced landing.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was spreading crop seed on a field about 150-200 ft above ground level (agl) when the engine lost all power. He selected a road between trees and a powerline for a forced landing. The airplane reportedly stalled about 10 ft above the road, touched down hard, and the landing gear collapsed. The airplane slid on its belly until the left wing struck a tree and the airplane came to a stop, resulting in substantial damage to the airframe. Examination of the wreckage revealed no fuel in ether fuel tank, no fuel spillage, and only contained trace amounts of fuel in the fuel lines. At the time of the accident, the airplane had been in operation for about 3 hours, which the owner reported was the airplane’s maximum fuel endurance. The pilot reported that he normally used a cockpit-mounted timer to keep track of the airplane’s fuel endurance but did not normally fly the accident airplane, which was not equipped with this feature.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA20LA333 for the full record.