Flight History
The pilot completed five aerial application sorties before returning for fuel and fertilizer. After fuel and fertilizer were added, the pilot assumed the airplane was topped off with fuel but did not visually check the fuel tanks. The airplane has a total fuel capacity of 82 gallons, of which 2 gallons are unusable. Fuel consumption is 44 gallons per hour, and the engine burns 15 gallons per hour at flight idle during loading. The pilot later expressed uncertainty about the fuel used during taxi, takeoff, and climb to cruise altitude. After departing, the pilot flew five additional sorties and returned 1 hour 27 minutes later. During this turnaround, the airplane remained at flight idle while fertilizer was loaded, and no fuel was added.
Forced Landing
The pilot departed again, climbed to 700 feet, and was in cruise flight when the engine lost power. The pilot turned left and executed a forced landing in a field where trees had been harvested. During the landing rollout, the landing gear collided with tree stumps, causing the landing gear to separate and resulting in structural damage to the airframe.
Post-Accident Examination
Examination of the airplane by recovery personnel revealed that the fuel tank was not ruptured, but no fuel was present in the tank. No fuel spill was observed, nor was there any smell of fuel at the crash site. The fuel line from the fuel tank to the airframe filters was severed. The main fuel line from the airframe filters was removed from the main engine fuel pump inlet fitting, and residual fuel was present. However, the opposite end of that fuel line, removed from the exit side of the airframe filters, contained no fuel. Additionally, the main fuel line to the engine was disconnected and found with no fuel, and the fuel line from the inlet side of the airframe filters was also disconnected and contained no fuel.
Engine Test
The engine assembly was transported to an authorized repair facility and installed in a test cell. On the first attempt, the engine started in 22 seconds. The engine vibrated, which was attributed to a suspected bent propeller shaft. All ground idle operations were normal. The fuel control unit and propeller governor were damaged; when power was applied, these components failed to govern the engine rpm. The engine was shut down, started three more times, and ran for about 30 minutes.