ERA21LA018

The pilot reported that the accident flight was his first flight in the experimental amateur-built airplane, and it was the first flight after a condition inspection. After an uneventful takeoff, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power during the initial climb about 800 ft above ground level. The pilot was unable to restart the engine and subsequently performed a forced landing to a grassy clearing about 1 mile from the departure runway. During the rollout, the airplane impacted thick vegetation and trees, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the left fuel tank was empty, and the right fuel tank contained about 12 gallons. Additionally, the fuel selector placards for LEFT and RIGHT were mislabeled backwards. The pilot reported that prior to takeoff, there was about 15 gallons of fuel in the right fuel tank, and “only a couple of gallons” in the left fuel tank. As a result, he placed the fuel selector toward the sticker-type placard that stated RIGHT, although the fuel selector was pointed toward the left wing. According to the pilot, the most recent condition inspection did not involve any action that would have involved the fuel selector placards. Review of past maintenance records found several instances of fuel system maintenance; however, no entry described an action about placards at the fuel selector. Therefore, the investigation was unable to identify when the fuel tanks became incorrectly placarded.