Accident Overview
A pilot and his son, who also held a pilot certificate, had conducted several practice instrument approaches at three different airports before stopping for lunch. After departing to return to their home airport, while on the base leg of the traffic pattern for landing, they experienced a total loss of engine power.
Pilot Actions
The pilot noted that the fuel selector was positioned to the left wing tank and the corresponding fuel quantity gauge indicated that the tank was empty. He switched the fuel selector to the right tank and attempted an engine restart, but the engine did not restart.
Forced Landing
Following the unsuccessful restart attempt, the pilot's son executed a forced landing to a road. The landing resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, horizontal stabilizer, and rudder.
Postaccident Examination
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the aircraft after the accident and found that the left fuel tank contained less than one pint of fuel, while the right fuel tank contained approximately 6 gallons.