What happened
The pilot reported that he operated under the mistaken belief that the aircraft had been refueled the previous evening. During his preflight inspection, he did not observe any fuel in the aircraft's tanks. Despite this observation and his statement that the fuel quantity gauges were unreliable, he continued with the flight. While in cruise flight, both engines failed due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot then executed a forced landing in a plowed field.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical state of the aircraft following the incident. The primary finding was related to the fuel system's indication and the actual fuel status at the time of takeoff. The pilot's account highlighted that the fuel quantity gauges had been unreliable, contributing to the discrepancy between his expectations and the physical reality of the empty tanks.
Findings
The sequence of events leading to the accident was determined by the pilot's decision to fly despite not observing fuel in the tanks. The failure of both engines was directly caused by fuel exhaustion. The unreliability of the fuel gauges played a role in the pilot's initial assessment but did not prevent the eventual discovery of the empty state during preflight. The forced landing resulted in damage to the aircraft, though specific injury details were not provided in the source text.