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Based on interview with the pilot on March 7, 2023, the flight had originated in the morning from huntington, WV (hts) to morgantown, WV (mgw) with “approximately ¾ tanks” of fuel. While in mgw, the pilot elected to take on an additional 10 pounds of fuel in each auxiliary, wingtip fuel tank. Later that day, the flight was returning to huntington when the airman was descending from 6,500’ when he applied power in the level off at 4,500’, he did not get the response from the engine. He notified huntington approach of the loss of power and they gave some alternate airports for consideration. The airman did not think he could make any of those airports and elected to make an emergency off-airport landing.

During the initial review of the aircraft, there was no visible fuel remaining in the main tanks, with the fuel indicators reading empty on the right tank and just above the yellow range (13 useable gal.) On the left tank. Visual inspection of the wingtip tanks showed better than ½ full which was supported by the auxiliary tank fuel gauges in the aircraft and the airman’s statement of adding fuel in mgw. Airworthiness inspectors visually inspected the engine; there were no signs of oil or other indicators of engine failure and continuity of throttle, propeller, and mixture controls was confirmed. The next day, an a& p confirmed the right fuel tank was empty and the left was very low. After turning on the boost pump, the engine was started. After transferring the auxiliary tanks’ fuel to the mains, the engine was run for approx. 30 minutes and able to make 2700 RPM.

Based on these facts, the off-airport landing was a result of the loss of power which stemmed from the depletion of the fuel supply to the engine. The cause of the fuel depletion is a result of the airman’s mismanagement of the fuel system by neglecting to transfer the fuel from the auxiliary wingtip tanks to the main tanks as well as poor fuel planning prior to the flight to determine how much fuel was on board.