What happened
The pilot was conducting an approach to the airport when the engine suddenly lost power. An attempt was made to execute an emergency landing on runway 12. However, the airplane struck trees, subsequently hit a house, and collided with terrain or water short of the runway.
The investigation
Airport fueling records and the Hobbs meter reading indicated that the airplane had flown for approximately 5.2 hours since its last refueling. An on-scene investigation revealed no residual fuel in the carburetor and approximately one pint of fuel remaining in the fuel tanks.
Findings
The primary factor was fuel exhaustion, evidenced by the extended flight time without refueling and the near-empty fuel tanks found at the crash site.