What happened
During a night VFR flight at an altitude of 8,000 feet MSL, the pilot of a single-engine airplane experienced a loss of engine power. After successfully restarting the engine, the pilot elected to descend toward the destination airport as a precaution. However, during the descent, the engine lost power a second time. The pilot subsequently performed a gear-up forced landing in an open field located 2 nautical miles northeast of the intended destination.
The pilot noted that prior to the second power loss, the right fuel gauge indicated one-fourth full, while the left fuel gauge showed an unknown low amount of fuel. The pilot stated that they typically landed with 4-5 minutes of fuel in reserve and believed the gauges were usually accurate; the low fuel condition was not realized until after the second engine failure.
All 3 occupants were not injured and were able to egress from the aircraft unassisted. The aircraft sustained structural damage during the landing.
The investigation
FAA investigators responding to the accident site determined that both the left and right fuel tanks had been exhausted.