What happened
During a cross-country flight, the pilot operated the aircraft with the fuel selector positioned to the right main tank instead of both tanks, noting that the airplane felt heavy on the right side. While performing the return flight to the home airport, the aircraft suffered a total loss of engine power. The pilot attempted a forced landing, during which the aircraft collided with a fence post.
The investigation
An examination of the wreckage determined that approximately 10 gallons of fuel remained in the left main tank and 2 gallons remained in the right main tank. Testing showed the engine could be started and ran normally from idle up to 1,700 rpm before a normal shutdown was performed. No mechanical anomalies were identified during the examination or the engine run-up. The aircraft's standard fuel tanks have a capacity of 30.5 gallons per tank, with a total of 55 gallons of usable fuel and 6 gallons of unusable fuel across all conditions. This provides for 27.5 gallons of usable fuel and 3 gallons of unusable fuel in each main tank.