It’s not It!!!!
Maybe he thought planes flew on hope n’ change?
Empy fuel tanks explode and full ones burn. The wings were punctured and ripped off but no fire occured. Pretty good evidence of bone dry tanks. If the tanks were in the wings on that trainer.
From Spaceballs: “I knew we should’ve put more than 5 bucks worth in..”
I have a habit of carrying a small .22 pistol just about any time I walk around my rural yard.
Maybe once or twice a year, I have to stop and remind myself not to get so familiar with carrying a gun that I get careless. It really does sneak up on you.
Probably the same for most activities which can be dangerous.
Everybody knows that it’s Chewy’s job to check the fuel.
This is that pesky little thing called “Pilot’s pre-flight inspection.” It has worked for me for over 40 years without incident.
the gas pump illegal wanted $15 an hour.
It is common practice to fuel the plane after the last flight. If the tanks are not full as the plane sits, water vapor can condense inside the tank, rusting the bottom. The pilot just has to check the fuel level visually and inspect a fuel sample from the drains before flight.
Bet he’ll NEVER do that again... Sheesh.
Oh, preflight? What's this preflight thingy?
It was Chewy’s fault! He drained most of the fuel out before they took off to lighten the load making the jump to light speed a bit easier! Well? (Okay, Okay putting the bottle down now.....)
That doesn’t sound right. Pilots are fully trained to check out the plane before flying it (including checking the fuel tanks) and it is second nature to do that. Unless he had decided to commit suicide, he would have checked the tanks.
If true, amazingly stupid error on Mr. Ford’s part. Checking the fuel sumps and visual check of level is a mandatory part of your preflight.
Fuel gauges in vintage aircraft are usually not very accurate and don’t give the pilot more than an “indiction” of how much fuel is actually in the tanks...
Relying on “floats” (that can stick) in the tanks, or decades-old fuel gauges that can fail to tell the pilot if tanks are “full” or not is asking for trouble...Murphy’s Law especially applies to aviation...
Opening fuel ports to visually inspect, and dipping the tanks is the best and safest way to avoid risking your life (and passengers)...Should be part of every pre-flight check...
Consequently, he ran out of altitude, airspeed and ideas all at once...Sucks, and can be fatal...Harrison Ford got lucky...
My first instructor was fond of reaching over and pulling the throttle to idle, and then asking me “You just lost your engine...Where are you gonna land?” Got me in the definite habit of taking the preflight seriously, and constantly looking for emergency landing opportunities...
Technically, when the engine runs out of fuel it could be properly considered an “engine failure” and you would probably crash or crash land. Every one should just be grateful that Harry made it home safely and no dogs died.
He was using the John Denver pre-flight technique.
When I was flying, the aircraft was always refueled as soon as it was parked after a flight. Reason being, a fuel tank that has empty air space inside it can develop condensation and get water in the fuel. If Mr. Ford left his airplane sit around with a less than full tank he was asking for trouble, from condensation.
Then, upon deciding to take her up, if he didn’t do a proper preflight and drain the condensation sumps in the fuel tank(s) during his walk-around, the cause of the engine failure could have been from water in the fuel.