What happened
The pilot and passenger were preparing for a volunteer search and rescue flight when an incident occurred in the cockpit. A front seat belt became lodged underneath the fuel selector handle, which is located on the cockpit floor between the two front seats. As the seat belt was pulled loose, the long, pointer end of the fuel selector handle snapped off.
The pilot moved the remaining portion of the fuel selector to a position that appeared to be 'BOTH'. Shortly after takeoff, the engine suddenly quit. The pilot subsequently performed an emergency landing on snow-covered terrain. There were no injuries reported following the event.
The investigation
Post-accident inspection revealed that the loss of the pointer end of the selector handle allowed the selector to rotate a full 360 degrees. Upon investigation, the pilot discovered that the fuel selector had actually been positioned to the 'OFF' position rather than the intended 'BOTH' position.