Event Narrative
A pilot reported that the airplane was refueled while he performed the pre-flight inspection at night, but the right fuel tank fuel cap was not secured. He recalled that the fuel selector had been set to Both, and about halfway through the flight, he noticed that the right fuel tank appeared full, but the left fuel gauge indicated that fuel was being consumed from the left tank.
He decided that he would "check the situation out" when he reached his destination. About 5 miles from his destination, he noticed that the left wing tank fuel quantity indicator showed that the left tank had 5 gallons remaining, and that the right tank was still full.
Emergency Approach and Landing
During approach, the airplane became "very unstable and seemed to be uncoordinated." The stall warning horn sounded, and he applied left aileron and left rudder to align the airplane's heading with the runway heading but was unsuccessful. He aborted the landing, established a climb, and retracted the flaps. The Low Fuel warning light illuminated, and he switched the fuel selector to the right tank. The engine lost power, and he made a right tear drop turn back to the runway.
The airplane was about 1,000 ft above ground level, and he pitched for best glide airspeed about 70 knots, and he attempted to restart the engine, but the engine did not start. He lowered the nose, the airspeed increased to 85 knots, and he put in 20° of flaps and landed on the runway. The airplane bounced hard and returned to the runway before coming to a stop.
Damage and Pilot Report
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the lower fuselage longerons. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.