Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Chanute, Kansas 66720
Monday, September 22, 2003 1:30 CDT

The airplane collided with the terrain during a night forced landing following a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot received several weather briefings prior to the cross country flight. Upon reaching his destination the Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) was reporting a 200 foot ceiling with mist. The pilot made several low passes over the airport and he was unable to see the runway. He flew to another near-by airport, but according to the pilot, the weather was worse there. He turned back toward his original destination and declared an emergency stating he was low on fuel. The pilot stated while en route he was able to see the rotating beacon at another airport, so he decided to fly there. The pilot became confused and actually headed east instead of south. The engine then lost power and the airplane impacted the terrain during the forced landing. The pilot reported he knew the airplane was burning more fuel than normal during the flight, but he was not concerned until he reached his destination and determined he was not going to be able to land because of the weather. The weather at the original destination 41 minutes prior to the accident was 7 miles visibility and 200 overcast. The temperature and dew point were both 16 degrees Celsius. The weather reported 19 minutes after the accident was 4 miles visibility with mist, 200 foot overcast, temperature and dew point were both 16 degrees Celsius. The pilot received four weather briefings prior to departure. During the third preflight briefing the pilot was informed that the ceiling at an airport 40 miles south-southwest of his destination was 600 overcast and another airport 23 miles south was 500 overcast. He was informed that the weather was forecast to improve within the hour, but the briefer stated that the fog had not been forecasted and with all the moisture that was in the area, he was not sure how quickly the conditions would improve. During the fourth briefing the pilot was informed that the current conditions at his destination were calm winds, visibility of 10 miles, 1,000 foot broken ceiling, temperature and dew point were both 17 degrees Celsius. The forecast called for winds variable at 3 knots, visibility greater then 6 miles, and scattered clouds at 10,000 feet. The briefer continued to state that he suspected the broken ceilings were going to stay in the area and the visibilities were forecast to drop during the early morning hours. A review of the pilot's written statement failed to reveal that he had contacted any facilities while en route to obtain updated weather information.

The pilot 's inadequate in-flight planning/decision which resulted in both his in-flight encounter with weather, and the loss of power due to fuel exhaustion. Factors associated with the accident were the night conditions, fog, and the pilot becoming lost and disoriented.