What happened
During the flight, the aircraft experienced a sudden loss of engine power. Following the engine failure, the plane entered a stall condition before impacting a prairie landscape. The accident resulted in one fatality among the occupants. While two individuals on board, including the pilot and one passenger, were successfully rescued from the wreckage, a second passenger did not survive the impact.
Findings
Investigations into the incident determined that the engine ceased functioning during the flight due to a critical error in fuel management. Specifically, the fuel selector was set to an empty tank, which deprived the engine of necessary fuel and led to the subsequent loss of power and aerodynamic stall.