What happened
During an agricultural spraying operation, the pilot was applying a 50-50 mixture of Furadan weed killer and Dimate 4E to a field. According to witnesses, the engine experienced multiple failures, described as cutting out, stalling, or stopping. Although the pilot managed to restart the engine once, the power failed a second time. Following this second engine failure, the aircraft was observed to dive or go straight down.
The investigation
An FAA inspector conducted an examination of the aircraft's fuel system. The wing tanks remained undamaged and showed no evidence of fuel. Further inspection revealed that no fuel was present in the gascolator, the fuel line between the gascolator and the fuel pump, or the carburetor. However, investigators did find a small amount of fuel located within the carburetor inlet fuel line.