Fuel exhaustion involving a Cessna R182, VH-MNX, Tirlta Station, 115 km north-east of Broken Hill, New South Wales, on 3 December 1993

The pilot was operating over his property on a stock spotting flight with his brother as passenger. He had departed with about 2.5 hours fuel on board but, after about 40 minutes, the aircraft fuel gauges seemed to indicate a loss of fuel. The pilot headed for the station airstrip, but the engine failed when the aircraft was about 4 km south of the strip. The pilot selected an area for a forced landing, but the aircraft struck a fence and some bushes before coming to a stop.

Substantial damage was caused to the left wing and flap, left hand lift strut, the landing gear was stressed and gouges cut in the propellor blades and hub. The left hand fuel cap was missing allowing fuel to escape from the tank by siphon action. The pilot made temporary repairs to this substantial damage and later flew the aircraft to Swan Hill for repairs, a distance of over 480 km.