What happened
Shortly after departing on a flight in a Cessna 208B, the pilot encountered a loss of engine power. In response to the power loss, the pilot prepared for an emergency forced landing. During the aircraft's ground roll on the landing site, the nose wheel became embedded in soft ground, causing the aircraft to nose over.
Findings
Investigations into the engine failure revealed that while fuel was present in both wing tanks, the fuel line connecting the engine to the fuel selector contained only minimal traces of fuel. The fuel selectors were found in inconsistent positions: one was set to the OFF position, while the other was positioned halfway between the OFF and ON settings.
Although the aircraft featured an annunciator light and a warning horn designed to alert the crew if a fuel selector was turned off, the warning system failed to provide notification. The investigation determined that the annunciator light had popped out of its housing and was not making contact with the panel, and the warning horn was found to be inoperative, despite the electrical circuitry for the horn being functional.
While the pilot stated that both selectors were set to the ON position at takeoff and remained untouched, evidence suggested fuel exhaustion occurred. Data from a Cessna Aircraft Company representative indicated there was enough fuel located forward of the selector valves to support flight for several miles following takeoff. The engine was subsequently test-run without any issues being identified.