Background
A commercial pilot with 1,608 flight hours departed on a scheduled cargo flight. Before departure, he performed a preflight inspection and visually verified that all five fuel tanks were full. The outbound flight covered 162 nautical miles and took approximately one hour.
Flight Events
Before the return flight, the pilot checked the fuel and oil, noting three hours of fuel on board. About 15 minutes after departure, he switched to the auxiliary tanks. After 10 to 15 minutes of using the auxiliary tanks, he switched to the right locker tank. Shortly thereafter, air traffic control instructed him to begin a descent, and he selected the main fuel tanks. During the approach, the right engine began to sputter. As the pilot executed the engine failure checklist, the left engine also started sputtering. He switched the auxiliary fuel pumps to high and changed from the main tanks to the auxiliary fuel tanks. The airplane landed short of runway 12R.
Investigation Findings
Inspection of the aircraft revealed that both auxiliary fuel tanks were dry. The right main fuel tank contained approximately three inches of fuel, and the left main tank was dry but had been breached during the landing. The right wing locker fuel tank was full of fuel, and its transfer switch was in the off position. The left fuel selector was found in the left auxiliary position, and the right fuel selector was in the right auxiliary position. The main fuel line on the right engine had no fuel, and the line to the fuel manifold valve was also empty. The left main fuel line contained a few teaspoons of fuel, and the line to the left fuel manifold valve was empty.
Probable Cause
The probable cause was determined to be the loss of engine power to both engines due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's improper fuel management. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.