Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, and inadequate inflight fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation and subsequent forced landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot of the multi-engine airplane reported that while returning to the departure airport at an altitude of 3,000 ft mean sea level, he began to make a left banking turn when the left engine experienced a total loss of power. He immediately feathered the propeller and applied power to the right engine, which was also no longer producing power, and he realized that both engines had lost power. The pilot attempted to maintain control of the airplane while searching for an adequate landing location, but ultimately landed in heavily wooded terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, horizontal stabilizer, and both wings. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left auxiliary fuel tank was about ¾-full of fuel, while the right auxiliary tank was about ½-full of fuel. Both main fuel tanks contained no fuel. After the accident, the pilot articulated that the reason for the loss of engine power was fuel starvation. Based on the (inaccurate) fuel quantity indicators in the cockpit, he believed that each main fuel tank was between ¼- and ½-full. He did not visually look inside of the fuel tanks during the preflight inspection and that he did not get fuel before departing. The pilot also described that he should have immediately switched to auxiliary fuel tanks following the losses of engine power.