Accident to the Reims Cessna F 150 M registered F-BXNO on 20/06/2020 at Montbéliard Courcelles (Doubs)

Cat. 2 investigation report: simplified-format report, adapted to the circumstances of the occurrence and the investigation stakes.

The pilot, accompanied by one passenger, took off at around 15:00 under a VFR flight plan from Grenoble Le Versoud aerodrome (Isère) bound for Montbéliard Courcelles aerodrome (Doubs). This was the return flight within the context of a club excursion.
At 16:56, the pilot started the descent to 2,000 ft in order to directly join the downwind leg for runway 26. A parachute dropping operation was in progress at the uncontrolled aerodrome.
At the beginning of the downwind leg, the engine power suddenly decreased. The pilot pushed the throttle lever to increase the power but his input had no effect. He announced over the frequency that he had run out of fuel and decided to make a forced landing on the reciprocal QFU on runway 08.
The aeroplane hit the top of a tree located at the edge of the aerodrome at low speed, then fell practically vertically to the ground within the aerodrome.
The pilot took off with a total of 50 litres of fuel, which he thought would give him the necessary flying range of two-and-a-half hours to perform the return flight of an estimated duration of one hour and forty-five minutes, with a final reserve of 30 minutes. In reality, his flying range was a maximum of two hours and fifteen minutes, without the reserve. During the downwind leg, after a flight time of about two hours, the unpriming of the fuel system resulted in a complete engine shut-down.