Flight Details
A pilot and the aircraft owner departed on a round trip cross-country flight with one planned stop. Before departure, the owner topped off the fuel tanks. The pilot elected to trust the owner's assurance of the fuel quantity and did not independently verify the fuel level.
Enroute Stop
During the enroute stop, no fuel was added to the aircraft, and the fuel level was not verified by either the pilot or the owner.
Return Leg and Engine Failure
On the return leg, approximately ten miles from the departure airport, the engine stopped running. The pilot attempted to restart the engine and switched fuel tanks, but the engine did not restart.
Forced Landing
The pilot chose to land in an empty field. During the landing, the aircraft overran the field boundary, traversed a ditch, and struck a tree as it crossed a road before coming to a stop. The impact caused the nose gear to break off and damaged the leading edge of the right wing.
Post-Accident
Both the pilot and the owner exited the aircraft without assistance. The total flight time for the round trip was 3 hours and 40 minutes before the engine stoppage. The engine stopped due to fuel exhaustion, as confirmed by the flight duration and the circumstances.
Probable Cause
The probable cause of the engine failure was fuel exhaustion.