Dec 2012 Fuel Starvation Happens!
Fuel starvation. Don’t you just hate it when this happens?!!
When you screw up, the last thing you want is a crowd! This Orange County pilot landed on I-15, San Diego, last summer and reported “The fuel must have been less than what was on the gauges”.
OK, everybody that believes that say “Aye”. Â Fuel starvation, fuel exhaustion, running out of gas, whatever you wanna call it happens all the time in small aircraft. I remember sweating bullets a long time ago. I was flying my Cessna 140 west into a 40 kt headwind, over the flat flat state of Kansas. I had a non-pilot girlfriend with me and we were headed for the Rocky Mountains! My fuel gauge kept dropping lower and lower and my ground speed kept getting slower and slower. On a clear day in Kansas you can see Forever. I watched the airport ahead for what seemed like an eternity, and flying slower than the cars on the ground, kept pointing my nose at the airport. When I finally turned final, slowed it down and pulled the nose up to flair, the engine just quit! Â I’m smarter now than I was back then – Really!!
Jerry Griggs
Posted at 19:09h, 09 DecemberOMG, Judy, you ask the most embarrassing questions!
Lisa Martin
Posted at 12:11h, 08 DecemberI was looking for a “Not yet” choice. Like your story, wind has pushed me right to the limit more than once. Wind can really bite, especially when it is much higher than forecast and it is a long way between airports with fuel (often the case in the mountain west).