NTSB Factual Report

The pilot stated that on the return leg of the cross-country instructional flight at 5,500 feet mean sea level and 10 nautical miles from her destination airport, the engine lost power. The pilot reported that she then made a forced landing to a plowed field. A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector, who traveled to the accident site, reported that when both of the airplane's wing tanks were inspected for fuel, less than one gallon of fuel was drained from each tank. The inspector stated that the firewall and engine mount had sustained substantial damage, the nose landing gear had separated, and that both main landing gear structures were bent aft. The inspector also revealed that the pilot had landed across the rows of the plowed field.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate in-flight decision by failing to refuel while en route, resulting in fuel exhaustion and the loss of power. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.