Event ERA11CA364

Factual narrative

While descending for landing the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot was able restore engine power for a few seconds but it then sputtered and lost power again. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, so he set up a glide for the airstrip he was descending to. There was a headwind and when he realized he could not make the airstrip, the pilot performed a forced landing in a field. The airplane's landing gear struck the top of a tree, and the airplane pitched down and impacted the ground sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage and tail. Examination of the airplane and engine by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that, all of the fuel tanks were devoid of fuel and only three drops of fuel were discovered in the carburetor and fuel supply line. There was no evidence of any pre-impact mechanical malfunction of the airplane or engine. While the flight was descending for landing, the airplane's engine lost power. The pilot was able restore engine power for a few seconds, but the engine then sputtered and lost power again. The pilot was unable to restart the engine, so he set up a glide for the airstrip he was descending to. There was a headwind and, when he realized he could not make the airstrip, the pilot performed a forced landing in a field. The airplane's landing gear struck the top of a tree and the airplane pitched down and impacted the ground, where it sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and tail. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed that all of the fuel tanks were devoid of fuel and only three drops of fuel were discovered in the carburetor and fuel supply line. The pilot stated that there was no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunction of the airplane or engine. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid level - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Planning/preparation-Fuel planning-Pilot - C