unicate wrote:

It doesn't matter how much AOPA tries to educate, there's a huge portion
of the general public they would never reach. I don't blame the witness
for speculating, I blame the reporter for irresponsibly including that
SPECULATION in the article (although 8 gallons in 2 tanks isn't much
fuel). That's the NTSB's job, and at least *the reporter* should know
that.

Sounds like the pilot did a great job.

When the reporter included the speculation by uneducated witnesses, who
turned out to be way off base ("I thought it hit a crane..."), he did
us a favor. Since he also clearly included the truth--that the plane
had plenty of fuel to be running--the witnesses were shown to be
witless guessers.

The bad news is that most people won't realise that.