CEN14LA472

The pilot said he visually checked and verified that the right wing fuel tank was just under half full and that the left wing fuel tank was just over half full prior to takeoff. As the airplane approached the destination, about 190 nm from the departure airport, the pilot decided to conduct a practice visual approach. Shortly after turning onto final approach, the engine lost power. After employing emergency procedures, the pilot was able to restore power and climbed the airplane to 3,100 feet. He then checked the fuel gauges, which both indicated one-eighth full. The engine then lost power a second time. The pilot made a forced landing in a bean field, and the airplane nosed over. During postaccident examination, no fuel sloshing could be heard when the wings were rocked; both wing fuel caps were then removed from the inverted airplane and no fuel leaked out. The airplane was righted, and when the master switch was turned on, the left fuel gauge was one needle-width above empty and the right fuel gauge indicated empty. The integrity of the fuel tanks appeared to be intact, and no fuel leaked from the tanks. No fuel was visible in either fuel tank. No fuel was recovered when the left and right wing fuel sump drains were removed. After adding fuel, the engine was started and ran at idle power until it was shut down.

On September 1, 2014, about 1740 central standard time, the pilot of an Ohlgren Vans RV-6A, N419B, made a forced landing in a bean field after the engine lost power 5 miles south of the Marshalltown Municipal Airport (MIW), Marshalltown, Iowa,. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from Marv Skie-Lincoln County Airport (Y14), Tea, South Dakota, about 1615.The pilot said that prior to departing Y14, he visually checked and verified that the right wing fuel tank was "just under" half full and the left wing fuel tank was "just over" half full (a half-full tank contains 19 useable gallons). En route, the pilot switched tanks "multiple times." Approaching KMIW, the pilot decided he would practice a visual approach using the RNAV (GPS) RWY 31 instrument approach procedure. Shortly after turning onto final approach at VUNDY IAF (initial approach fix), the engine lost power. After employing emergency procedures, the pilot was able to restore power and climbed to 3,100 feet. He said he checked the fuel gauges and they both indicated 1/8-full. The engine lost power a second time. The pilot made a forced landing in a bean field and the airplane nose over. On September 2, two airworthiness inspectors and an operations inspector from the Des Moines Flight Standards District Office went to the accident site. They reported the airplane was inverted and the vertical stabilizer and rudder were crushed. The right wing outboard leading edge and tip were crushed. The nose gear was bent. The inspectors rocked the wings rocked back and forth and could not hear any fuel sloshing. Both wing fuel caps were removed and no fuel leaked out. On September 18, 2014, FAA inspectors returned to the accident site. A recovery crew was at the site and turned the aircraft over so that it was resting on its landing gear. With the master switch on, the left fuel gage was one needle-width above empty and the right fuel gage indicated empty. There was no dead or discolored vegetation around the airplane, and the integrity of the fuel tanks appeared intact. No fuel leaked from the tanks. No fuel was visible in either fuel tank. No fuel was recovered when the left and right wing fuel sump drains were removed. Fuel was added to the right tank and the engine was started. It ran at an idle power for about 30 seconds before being shut down.