Incident Overview
An aircraft was flown in an airshow by its owner. After landing, the aircraft was shut down and refueled. The refueling and preflight checks were conducted rapidly to allow the owner's son, a student pilot, to depart the airport ahead of the crowd. Approximately three minutes after takeoff, at an altitude of about 1,000 feet, the engine quit.
Emergency Landing
The student pilot executed a forced landing in a corn field. The aircraft sustained substantial damage during the landing.
Investigation Findings
An investigation conducted by the owner revealed that the fuel valve configuration left only about half a gallon of fuel in the header tank available to the engine. The student pilot did not attempt to correct the valve position during the descent.