Flight Crew Rotorcraft; Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 14.7; Flight Crew Total 146; Flight Crew Type 122
Distraction; Time Pressure
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown; Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue
Flight Crew Took Evasive Action; Flight Crew Diverted
Human Factors
During a pleasure flight; the low fuel light came on in the Robinson R44. Upon noticing; I immediately reduced collective and slowed to 80 knots to preserve fuel and began considering the nearest appropriate place to land. Being close to ZZZ; I headed directly there to land while keeping an eye out open areas to auto rotate to in the case of engine loss. After landing; I sent my passengers into the FBO; refueled the helicopter; and sent my passengers onto dinner. I called a friend and previous Flight Instructor to discuss what happened. I then flew the helicopter back to ZZZ1 alone.The issue began during the preflight. A friend and our significant others joined me for a sightseeing tour. During the preflight; the friend kept asking questions and pulling away my attention. When I first checked the fuel gauges; I misread them as being mostly full when they were mostly empty. I even quickly redid the weight and balance in my head to confirm we were under maximum weight. I have no idea how I made the mistake other than I was simply going through the motions while distracted. I then missed when I did the physical check of the fuel tanks as the hangar was dim and I did not affirmatively see the fuel level. Again; I allowed myself to be distracted and just go through the motions of unscrewing the fuel cap and looking into the tank. As I finished the preflight; I mentioned to my friend how important the preflight was and asked him to be quiet while I did a second preflight. Unfortunately this time; I simply confirmed the gauges showed the same fuel level as before and did not check the tanks; but was thorough for the rest of the preflight. The startup of the helicopter took longer than usual with several attempts due to the cold weather. During my takeoff check; I repeated out loud that gauges were green and we had fuel - again just confirming the gauges were in the same position and not really looking at what they read.I was excited and nervous for the flight. I allowed myself to be distracted and go through some of the motions. I have now placed an emphasis on each and every step of the preflight. I will no longer allow distractions to be present while I am doing important safety work.
R44 pilot reported diverting due to a low fuel indication attributed to distraction during the preflight check.