What happened
The private pilot reported reaching cruising altitude and leveling off before leaning the fuel mixture. Shortly thereafter, the engine failed. The pilot initiated an emergency night landing attempt which resulted in a noseover.
The investigation
A post-accident examination of the aircraft revealed no mechanical malfunctions or failures of components that would have precluded normal operation. However, the inspection confirmed that the aircraft was empty of usable fuel at the time of the incident.
Findings
The primary contributing factor to this accident was the pilot's decision to continue flight with insufficient fuel, leading to fuel exhaustion. The resulting loss of engine power during the emergency landing phase caused the noseover damage. No injuries were reported among the occupants.