20170612007189A

On Monday, 6/11/17, at approximately 2230 hours, the pilot began his descent and was near the approach end of rwy 14 at Eagles Nest Airport, NJ (31E) at 500 ft MSL when he recognized the sight picture was not correct. The pilot then added power to go around and climbed to between 1,000 and 1,200 ft MSL, and turned crosswind and downwind. While on the downwind leg between 1,200 and 1,500 ft MSL, about 1/4 way to runway midfield, the engine sputtered and quit. He attempted to restart the engine, but the engine did not restart. He then turned perpendicular to rwy 14, near the approach end of rwy 14, and contacted the trees. The aircraft came to rest inverted and resting on trees at approximately a 50 degree angle. The pilot obtained minor injuries and disembarked the aircraft under his own power. During the investigation, fuel was found seeping from the left wing tank vent tube. No visible signs of fuel was present coming from the right wing tank. Once the aircraft was repositioned on it's landing gear, 2 1/2 gallons of fuel was sumped from the left wing tank, and 6 ounces were drained from the right wing tank. The engine was found to have an operating fuel system, and no signs of engine damage was noted. With fuel present, the engine was run at idle without any issues.