Departure and Fueling
The pilot departed his residence at a private lake in a float-equipped airplane to transport passengers to another remote lake. Prior to departure, the airplane was fueled by the pilot from a 1,000-gallon metal tank located on his lake property. During the fueling process, the metal tank's fuel supply was exhausted, but sufficient fuel was obtained to fill one fuel tank and nearly fill the other. Before departing for the day, the pilot purchased 15 gallons of additional fuel at a nearby airport and placed 5 gallons of the additional fuel in the airplane fuel tanks.
Previous Flights
He then conducted two round-trip flights to the remote lake. After a day of fishing at the remote lake, the pilot flew to his residence and added 10 gallons of additional fuel to the airplane. Two empty five-gallon fuel cans were found at his dock. He then departed on the accident flight to pick up additional passengers from the remote lake, but he did not arrive at his destination.
Accident Site and Condition
The airplane was located inverted in an area of tall trees. The airplane flaps were extended full down. The engine did not appear to be running at the time of the accident. The airplane's fuel totalizer indicated 29 gallons of fuel. A postaccident examination of the engine found no mechanical malfunctions.
Fuel System Examination
Minor wrinkles were found along the bottom of each of the airplane's fuel bladders. The gascolator contained about a teaspoon of water and particulate contamination. The header tank had about an ounce of fuel and water. The fuel pump contained no fuel. Evidence of tan-colored particulate contamination was found in a fluid sample obtained from the fuel filter housing, attached to the pilot's fuel tank hand pump on his fuel tank.