N5309R

On September 23, 1999, at 2205 Alaska daylight time, a Cessna 172 airplane, N5309R, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing about three nautical miles northeast of the Edward G. Pitka, Sr. Airport, Galena, Alaska, at 64 degrees 44.17 minutes north latitude, 156 degrees 56.24 minutes west longitude. The commercial pilot and one passenger were not injured. The remaining passenger received minor injuries. The business flight was operated by Arctic Camps and Equipment, of Anchorage, Alaska, under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight departed Merrill Field in Anchorage about 1745 for Galena. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight plan was filed.

The pilot contacted the Fairbanks Flight Service Station (FSS) at 2155 and closed his flight plan, stating to the Flight Service Specialist that the Galena airport was in sight. He then communicated on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF) with the pilot of an airplane departing runway 25. The pilot of the departing airplane told the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) during a telephone interview on September 24, that the accident pilot transmitted he was "five miles out for landing." This was followed by "I'm three miles out, just ran out of fuel at 1,000 feet, and am going to try to land on a road or the closed airstrip."

The pilot told the IIC, during a telephone interview on September 24, that he thought he departed with a full fuel load of 39 gallons (38 gallons usable), but did not visually confirm the tanks were topped off after the lineman from a Fixed Base Operator filled the airplane's tanks. He said he flew to the New Wasilla Airport, Wasilla, Alaska, and picked up his two passengers. The pilot stated he then flew to Rainy Pass and Puntilla Lakes, Alaska, and found Rainy Pass was closed due to weather. He rerouted through Ptarmigan Pass, to Farewell, Alaska, and on to Galena. He described closing his flight plan when five miles from the airport, and said the airplane ran out of gas three miles from the runway. He attempted to land at a closed airstrip, but it was dark, and the airplane landed in the trees. The pilot said the flight lasted 4 hours 37 minutes. The cruise performance charts for a Cessna 172 with an O-300 engine predict fuel consumption at 2,400 rpm between 8.1 and 9.2 gallons per hour.