What happened
During the descent phase of flight, the pilot reported that the left engine lost power. After making multiple unsuccessful attempts to restore power to the engine, the pilot closed the throttle and feathered the left propeller.
While performing a single-engine approach, the pilot lowered the landing gear handle and received indications that the gear was down and locked; however, the emergency hydraulic pump was not utilized during this process. Upon touchdown, the nose gear collapsed.
The investigation
An investigation into the aircraft's systems revealed that both auxiliary fuel tanks were nearly empty, while the main fuel tanks were approximately half full. Investigators discovered that two rivets used to mount the left fuel selector handle had failed, which rendered the selector inoperable.
Subsequent functional tests performed on the hydraulic, fuel, and landing gear systems—including the crossfeed system—showed no other evidence of mechanical malfunction.