Incident Overview
A pilot reported that the aircraft had not been flown for two months and intended to practice touch-and-go landings. Prior to departure, maintenance personnel were requested to add 10 gallons of fuel to the right main tank. Upon arrival, the pilot did not drain any fuel from the aircraft or perform any other form of pre-flight inspection.
Sequence of Events
After takeoff, while raising the landing gear, the pilot noticed an unsafe nose gear indication. The nose gear was pumped up, and power was reduced to climb when the engine began to surge. At an altitude of 1,200 to 1,400 feet above ground level (AGL), the pilot turned crosswind but was unable to maintain altitude. The pilot reported that the left engine was developing about 1,000 RPM at this time.
Descending below 500 feet AGL, the pilot flew toward a field, extended the landing gear, and landed with the gear in transit. The pilot stated that he did not have time to feather the left propeller.
Post-Incident Findings
Disassembly of the engine revealed no significant discrepancies. The density altitude at the time of the incident was reported as 7,974 feet above mean sea level (MSL).