Incident Overview
An aircraft involved in aerial application operations experienced an engine failure due to fuel exhaustion during a flight. The pilot, who reported having topped off the fuel tanks before departure, estimated about 25 minutes of fuel remaining after flying for 1 hour and 52 minutes. However, the engine quit 8 minutes later, exactly 2 hours after the last refueling.
Forced Landing
After the engine failure, the pilot executed a forced landing in a field. The landing was hard on the right wing, causing damage to that area.
Post-Crash Examination
A post-crash examination of the aircraft revealed no usable fuel remaining in the tanks. There was no evidence of inflight fuel leakage from the fuel strainer or fuel tanks.
Fuel Consumption Data
The aircraft owner stated that during aerial application operations, the aircraft normally consumes 19 gallons of fuel per hour. The aircraft holds 38 gallons of usable fuel when full, providing approximately 2 hours of flight time. Other pilots who had flown the aircraft did not report any excessive fuel consumption.