What happened
The pilot reported that during the preflight inspection, he did not visually check the fuel tanks but instead relied on the fuel gauges. The instruments indicated there was 7 gallons in the left tank and 4 gallons in the right tank. The pilot took off using fuel from the left tank to practice touch-and-go landings. After a short time, he changed the fuel selector to the right tank.
While taking off from the second touch-and-go, the engine lost power at approximately 400 feet above ground level. The pilot attempted to switch back to the left tank but was unable to regain power. He made an emergency landing with the fuel selector still on the right tank. The aircraft came to rest upright in a drainage ditch. During the landing roll-out, the aircraft went into heavy brush, and the pilot reported that he was not aware of the location of the ditch.
The investigation
Post-accident examination revealed that 4 gallons of fuel were drained from the left tank, but no fuel was found in the right tank. This confirmed that the engine had run out of usable fuel from the selected tank.