What happened
The student pilot had completed a practice area session and returned to the airport to perform touch-and-go landings. During the first takeoff attempt of this sequence, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. Despite the mechanical failure, the pilot managed to reland the aircraft on the runway. However, the airplane ran off the end of the runway during the rollout.
The investigation
A post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed the root cause of the power loss. The fuel selector valve was positioned to draw from the left fuel tank. Inspection confirmed that the left tank was empty. In contrast, the right fuel tank contained approximately 10 gallons of usable fuel.
Findings
The accident was caused by fuel exhaustion resulting from improper fuel management. The pilot failed to switch the fuel selector to the right tank, which still had fuel remaining, leading to a total loss of power during a critical phase of flight.