Declared emergency — fuel starvation, Piper PA-28

Summary

The pilot of a Piper PA-28R Arrow III declared MAYDAY south of Latrobe Valley Airport after the engine stopped due to fuel exhaustion on a positioning flight. The pilot switched tanks, the engine restarted, and a landing was made without further incident. Post-flight inspection confirmed the left tank was dry and the right tank had less than 5 litres remaining.

Investigation Findings (4)

1. 01The pilot had not performed a fuel check during a fuel stop and had relied on a visual gauge check.
2. 02Pre-departure fuel planning had not accounted for alternate routing to avoid coastal cloud.
3. 03The engine restart on the alternate tank provided approximately 12 minutes of additional flight time.
4. 04ATSB reinforced the importance of physical fuel checks at all fuel stops and updated its fuel management safety educational material.