N3675U - 1963 Aircraft Aircraft Registration

Failure by the flightcrew (dual student and flight instructor) to accurately determine the fuel quantity prior to flight, which resulted in fuel exhaustion. An additional cause was the flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight due to his failure to personally verify the fuel quantity on-board. Contributing factors were the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing and the ditch (small ravine).

The pilot's decision to intentionally shut down the engine; his failure to verify the surface winds during the prolonged orbiting descent over the airport, which resulted in a final approach with a tailwind component; and his misjudging of the aircraft's altitude and speed during the power off forced landing attempt, which led to a runway overrun.