Small Transport
Flight Crew Commercial
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 150; Flight Crew Total 1500; Flight Crew Type 125
Workload; Communication Breakdown; Distraction; Fatigue; Situational Awareness
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical; Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue
Flight Crew Inflight Shutdown; Flight Crew Landed in Emergency Condition
Aircraft; Company Policy; Human Factors; Staffing
On a morning flight I experienced an off field landing due to fuel exhaustion. The Fuel On Board (FOB) required a large hopper load and half tank of fuel. Ground Personnel began loading the aircraft and I took a brief break for lunch. I received a letter which expressed actions which may affect me negatively during the break. I returned to the aircraft and found Ground Personnel had completed operations. I reset the fuel totalizer and went to work on a field 3 miles east of a nearby airport. The engine quit in a turn during the application about 45 minutes after departure. The fuel gages are a single sending unit type and are erratic with fuel sloshing in the application phase of flight with steep banking turns. The aircraft is equipped with a low fuel warning light. The light placement and intensity make it very difficult to determine if it is illuminated in bright daylight conditions. I placed too much confidence in the ground personnel and was distracted by other concerns not related to the flight ultimately making complacency and fatigue the determining factors.To prevent the recurrence the pilot should monitor the loading procedures to verify expected actions have been properly performed. As additional safety measures we are discussing some changes to the aircraft. The addition of a master caution light more in the pilots line of vision with adequate intensity to alert the pilot to any warning light illuminating. Also installation of a refueling system which will allow the pilot to select a partial fuel setting and will automatically stop fuel flow at that quantity to aid in identifying adequate fuel has been loaded
An AT502B landed off airport because the fuel quantity and fuel low lights are unreliable during maneuvering flight and on these flights fuel was limited because of large hopper loads. Complacency and Fatigue were factors.