Incident Overview
During a cross-country flight of more than four hours duration, the airplane's engine suddenly ceased operation. The flight instructor, accompanied by a student, was unable to restart the engine. The crew then performed a night power-off forced landing, which resulted in the aircraft touching down in a cherry tree orchard.
Investigation Findings
Following the incident, investigators recovered six gallons of fuel from the right tank and seven gallons from the left tank. The engine was subsequently test-run successfully using both the left and right fuel systems. A thorough inspection of the entire fuel storage and feed system, including the fuel control unit screen and the fuel manifold screen, revealed no signs of blockage, anomaly, or contamination that would have prevented the engine from producing full power.
Outcome
At the conclusion of the investigation, no definitive reason for the loss of engine power could be determined. The cause of the engine stoppage remains unidentified.