Accident Details
On the day of the accident, the pilot had flown between 5 and 6 hours, estimating an endurance of 7 hours based on full fuel tanks at an economy cruise setting. During the fourth flight of the day, the engine lost all power. The pilot informed the passenger that he believed they were out of fuel and performed a forced landing into a cornfield.
Pilot Account
The pilot stated that before his first flight of the day, he instructed the fixed based operator to completely fuel the airplane. During the preflight inspection, both fuel tanks appeared to be full. However, the aircraft had been flown for 1.2 hours by a different pilot before the accident pilot arrived at the airport. After that prior flight, the aircraft was not refueled.
Fuel Management
The manager of the fixed based operator believed that the accident pilot departed with 76 gallons of fuel, instead of the usable capacity of 88 gallons. The discrepancy between the apparent full tanks and the actual fuel quantity may have contributed to the fuel exhaustion, though no official cause was stated in the investigation source.
Forced Landing
The pilot successfully executed a forced landing in a cornfield after the engine lost power. No further details about the landing or post-accident condition were provided in the source.