Background
On January 21, during an en route refueling stop, the pilot observed fuel leaking around the left tank cap. Upon arrival at Sanford, the aircraft was refueled with approximately 50 gallons, and a local flight of about 12 minutes was flown. The aircraft has a usable fuel capacity of 59 gallons. The fuel tanks were not checked after the local flight.
Incident Sequence
On January 24, the pilot departed Sanford for Athens, Georgia. Headwinds encountered en route caused a 30 to 45 minute delay in arrival. While descending from 6,500 feet, the engine lost power. The pilot performed a forced landing in a soft muddy field. During the landing, the nose gear sheared off, and the aircraft flipped inverted.