Incident Description
During the initial climb after takeoff, the aircraft's engine lost power. The aircraft was at an estimated altitude of 100 feet and was over trees at the time of the power loss. The pilot attempted to return to the airstrip. The aircraft subsequently landed hard in a nose-down position off to the side of the runway.
Investigation Findings
Examination of the aircraft revealed that the fuel selector and the fuel quantity selector were both in the left position. The left fuel tank was empty, while the right tank contained over nine gallons of fuel. The fuel selector was a three-position type, with options for left only, right only, and off. The position of the fuel selector indicated that the engine was being fed from the left tank, which had no fuel, leading to the power loss.