What happened
The aircraft experienced an in-flight power loss that necessitated a forced landing. During a post-accident interview, the pilot stated that he did not switch fuel tanks during the sequence of events leading to the power failure.
The investigation
A thorough examination of the aircraft's fuel system revealed significant discrepancies between the tanks. The right fuel tank was found to be completely empty. When drained from the gascolator, only about half an ounce of fuel was recovered. Similarly, approximately 14 ounces were drained from the reservoir tank.
In contrast, the left fuel tank was measured and found to contain approximately 29 gallons of fuel. This indicates that the aircraft had been operating solely on the right tank until it was depleted.
Findings
The primary factor in this incident was fuel exhaustion. The pilot failed to switch tanks during the power loss sequence, leading to the depletion of the available fuel supply despite ample reserves remaining in the left tank.