Event Summary
The pilot of the aircraft reported that, before reaching the destination, the engine lost power while flying over wooded mountainous terrain. The pilot turned the aircraft back to land downwind on a sandbar but overshot and touched down in willows. The pilot stated that earlier, he had fully serviced the airplane and flown it for one hour.
Fuel Calculations
Based on his pre-flight calculations, the pilot believed there were 4 hours of fuel remaining, and that the flight should have taken only 2 hours and 40 minutes. However, after the accident, draining of the fuel tanks revealed that the left wing tank contained only 5 gallons of fuel, and the right tank contained less than 1 pint. According to the flight manual, this left only 1.5 gallons of usable fuel. Further calculations indicated that the aircraft required an additional 5.4 gallons of fuel to complete the planned flight.
Flight Conditions
The pilot reported light turbulence during the flight. No other weather or operational conditions were mentioned in the report.