I happened to drive by the location...always creepy and the gas pump canopy damage was still apparent.
http://fox2now.com/2017/12/06/small-pla ... t-airport/
Based on the damage to the canopy and the crash site, it seems that the plane may have been Northbound and on something of a base leg when the power quit. Kind of a bad deal as the terrain to the south is hilly. The crash site is maybe 50 ft. NE of the clipped canopy and may indicate that the plane was coming down somewhat steeply at the time.
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One might speculate he was trying to land on the N-S road, but was way off to the right to have clipped the gas station canopy. I noted that the area had typical power lines all over creation
I noted the discussion on fuel tank management vs carb heat vs mixture vs. fuel exhaustion (and my original fuel starvation comment)...all valid.
Could he have dived and made some sort of crash landing on the NS road? Arguably it seems like a slightly short base leg, but I think the weather was pretty VFR at the time, and by those standards the base leg isn't short. Had he been on a LONG final, the Interstate highway sure looks friendly.
Stlll, to arm chair QB this thing...if you are on base and the engine craps out, seems like angling to the airport is a better option? [acknowledging that it's way too easy to arm chair QB]
Sad deal.
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Footnote: There is actually a runway 26R at this airport- a bit shorter and narrower and used more by the single-engine cohort- the threshold is visible at the far left.
Commercial Pilot, Vandelay Industries, Inc., Plant Nutrient Division.