Accident Details
According to the pilot, about 10 minutes after takeoff he noticed a "power drop" and a noise on the pilot side which sounded like exhaust, as if he had blown a cylinder or lost compression. He reported that initially he could not exceed 1200 feet mean sea level (MSL). When unable to maintain altitude, the pilot elected to make a forced landing into a swamp. On approach for the landing, the pilot pulled the nose of the airplane up, and the airplane collided with trees.
Investigation Findings
Examination of the airplane revealed leading edge damage to both wings and twisting of the fuselage. Examination of the engine found no evidence of fuel in the fuel tanks, fuel lines, fuel gascolator, or in the carburetor. On May 3, 2005 at 1500 eastern daylight time, the pilot was asked about the amount of fuel onboard at the time of the accident. On his Pilot/Operator Report, he stated that he departed with 21 gallons of fuel. However, no fuel was found in the tanks at the accident site. The pilot stated that he did not recall if he had checked the fuel tanks prior to takeoff. He also noted that according to local authorities on-scene, there was no fuel spill. He stated that if there was no fuel on the airplane, he could not argue with the findings.