Engine Failure During Final Approach at Destination Airport (N78402)

Incident Overview and Pilot Report A private pilot stated that he visually checked the fuel tanks before departing on a visual flight rules (VFR) flight and confirmed that fuel was present. The pilot could not recall the specific time of departure. During the approach to his destination airport, the engine quit while he was turning from the base leg to final approach. The pilot switched the fuel tanks and attempted to restart the engine, but the restart was unsuccessful. The airplane cleared the trees at the approach end of the runway and then collided with the ground. The nose gear separated upon impact, and the airplane continued forward before colliding with the airport fence. ## Crash Site Examination and Fuel Findings Examination of the crash site revealed that neither the left nor the right fuel tanks were ruptured. No fuel was present in either fuel tank at the time of the examination. The airplane was subsequently recovered to an airport hangar, where the left and right fuel sumps were drained. One-fourth of a gallon of fuel was removed from the left fuel tank drain, while no fuel was recovered from the right fuel tank drain. A support brace was placed under the airplane to stabilize it. ## Post-Recovery Engine Test After the support brace was installed, the engine was started and ran at idle power for three minutes before losing power.