What happened
The aircraft departed with full fuel tanks. During the flight, while approximately 12 miles from the destination airport, the engine began to surge. Unable to maintain altitude due to the power loss, the pilot elected to perform an emergency landing in a nearby field. During the descent, the left wing collided with a pole before the aircraft landed and came to rest upright.
The investigation
Post-accident inspection revealed that the fuel tanks contained only 3.25 gallons of fuel. The unusable fuel quantity for this aircraft type is 1.5 gallons, indicating a significant discrepancy between expected and actual fuel availability. An A&P mechanic examined the engine and found no mechanical reasons for failure or malfunction.
Findings
The primary issue was fuel exhaustion, as evidenced by the low fuel quantity remaining in the tanks despite the initial report of full tanks. The engine showed no signs of internal mechanical failure, pointing to a lack of fuel supply rather than a mechanical defect as the cause of the surge and subsequent power loss.