Accident Summary
A single-engine airplane was substantially damaged when it nosed over during a forced landing in a grassy field. The private pilot, who held 175 hours of flight experience, was not injured.
Pilot and Flight
According to the pilot, after takeoff he climbed to approximately 1,000 feet above ground level and flew in the local area for about 50 minutes. While making several circles around the airport, the engine began to run "rough." The pilot applied carburetor heat and maneuvered the airplane to set up for a forced landing into a field.
Engine and Landing
The pilot reported that the engine "appeared" to be starved of gas. As he cycled the throttle, the engine would "restart." After several attempts to maintain engine RPM, the engine "quit" completely. Subsequently, the pilot landed the airplane in a grassy field located across from the airport. During the rollout, the front tire struck a small ditch, causing the airplane to nose over and come to rest inverted.
Post-Accident Examination
An examination of both wing fuel caps revealed that their respective vents were "painted over." When low-pressure air was introduced to the left wing fuel vent, the vent appeared to be blocked. Higher-pressure air was then applied, and a "pop" was heard, as if the vent had "cleared" debris when the air was applied.
Maintenance Records
According to entries in the airplane's maintenance logbooks, the last annual inspection was completed on March 15, 2003. Additional entries showed that the airplane had flown a total of approximately 1.4 hours (including the 50 minutes of the accident flight) since that annual inspection.