NTSB Factual Report

On August 28, 2012, about 1850 central daylight time, N49363, an Aviat Inc A-1 Husky, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during a forced landing to a field after a total loss of engine power near Rolla, North Dakota. The certificated commercial pilot and the passenger were not injured. No flight plan was filed for the cross country flight that departed Huron Regional Airport (HON) Huron, South Dakota, at 1430, and was destined for Rolla Municipal Airport (06D), Rolla, North Dakota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The pilot stated that he self-fueled the airplane before he departed with 40 gallons of fuel. The flight was uneventful until they were 10 miles south of the Rolla airport. The pilot said,"...the engine cut out, sputtered and quit and would not restart." He immediately turned into the wind and landed in a harvested wheat field. Upon touch down, he applied brakes to avoid a large pot hole. The airplane tipped up on its nose and slowly fell on to its back, which resulted in structural damage to the wing struts.

An airframe and power plant mechanic recovered the airplane from the field. In a written statement, he said that the right wing's fuel cap was missing and could not be located. The top of the wing area around the fuel filler cap was stained blue back toward the trailing edge consistent with fuel venting overboard. The mechanic also said that when he removed both wings, there was no fuel in the left wing and less than a cup of fuel in the right wing. No other mechanical anomalies were noted with the airplane or engine.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to secure the right wing's fuel cap before the flight and to properly manage the available fuel supply during the flight, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.