Incident Details
The aircraft sustained substantial damage during an emergency landing after a loss of power in both left and right engines. The pilot landed the aircraft in a river bed with the landing gear retracted during the hours of darkness.
Fuel Status
Prior to departure, the aircraft was serviced with 10 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel. The pilot stated that he had approximately 64 gallons of fuel on board before departing Houston. When the engine failure occurred, the fuel gauges were indicating about half full. After the wreckage was removed from the river bed, a minimal amount of fuel was observed in the fuel tanks. No evidence of fuel leakage from the tanks was observed.
Landing
The pilot executed the landing on a river bed with the gear retracted. The exact location of the river bed is not specified. The landing occurred during darkness, which required the pilot to operate without visual cues from the terrain. The aircraft came to rest in the river bed and was later recovered.
Damage
The aircraft received substantial damage as a result of the emergency landing. The extent of the damage is consistent with a gear-up landing on an unprepared surface. No further details on specific components damaged are provided.
Investigation
No probable cause has been stated in the available information. The investigation noted the minimal fuel remaining and the absence of fuel leaks, but no conclusion regarding the cause of the power loss has been drawn.