Taylorcraft L 2M accident near Walla Walla, Washington, December 21, 2018

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot had just purchased the airplane. Before departing on the cross-country flight, he conducted preflight fuel planning based on the airplane’s total fuel capacity and the fuel consumption rate as reported by the previous owner (16 gallons and 4 gallons per hour, respectively). The pilot reported that, about 30 minutes from the destination, the fuel quantity gauges “showed low fuel,” but he thought he had adequate fuel onboard to reach the airport. About 15 minutes from the destination, the engine lost total power and the pilot performed a forced landing to a field. The airplane nosed down during the landing roll and came to rest upright, resulting in substantial damage to the engine firewall and mounts. An industry expert for the accident airplane make/model and engine configuration indicated that the airplane’s fuel consumption was likely about 6 gallons per hour and that the airplane had a total fuel capacity of 14 gallons. During a subsequent interview, the pilot reported that the loss of engine power was the result of fuel exhaustion. The pilot’s reliance on the information provided by the previous owner likely contributed to his exhaustion of the available fuel.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.