20050730016359A

(-23) The pilot was airborne approximately 1.4 hours. After approximately 1 hour of local flight he began conducting touch and go operations. Shortly after the 4th take-off the pilot radioed the tower and reported the engine quit. The aircraft came to rest in a narrow ravine approximately 20 yards wide and 35 feet deep and approximately 2 miles west of the airport. The ravine ran generally north/south. The aircraft impacted in the bottom on the west side heading 270 degrees. The cockpit appeared survivable. There were no shoulder straps installed. The seat belt remained intact. There was no fuel in the fuel line to the fuel flow divider. A draining of the aux tank, left tank (tank was ruptured), right tank and gastolator sumps produced approximately 16 ounces of clean blue fuel. The wings were removed and no useable fuel was found. The fuel selector pointer was missing and could not be located so a determination of which tank it was on was not possible (see item #9, block 43). This will be determined at the salvage yard. Of the two propeller blades one had no damage and the other one was bent aft and beneath the engine in the dirt. The aircraft impacted flat with gear down, flaps up. (-23 amendment) the NTSB performed a tear-down of the fuel selector and determined the selector was set to the right main. The right main was not compromised and was completely dry. The apparent primary cause of the extensive left wing leading edge damage was due to the weight and momentum of the fuel rupturing the full fuel cell when the aircraft came to a sudden stop. The initial conclusion that the engine quit due to fuel exhaustion in the right tank remains the probable cause of this accident. In that the pilot is deceased and no maintenance discrepancies were noted this accident investigation is closed and no further action is indicated.