What happened
A Piper PA-24-250 collided with sloping terrain short of the runway during an attempt at a forced landing. During the flight, the pilots had been utilizing a flashlight to provide illumination for the instrument panel instead of using the aircraft's internal lighting.
The investigation
Investigators examined the fuel system of the aircraft and found that it had been modified from the standard configuration. Specifically, wingtip fuel tanks had been installed, which utilized two fuel selectors rather than the single selector found in a standard setup. At the time of the accident, the right main fuel tank was selected to the on position, while the left selector was set to off.
Further examination revealed that the fuel sediment bowl was broken. Because the wreckage was located on a slope, any remaining fuel was able to drain from the system. Based on normal fuel consumption calculations, it was determined that at least 1.5 hours of fuel should have remained in the aircraft at the time of the impact.