Aero Commander S2R accident near Valley City, North Dakota, August 5, 2016

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The commercial pilot reported that, before departure for the agricultural application flight, the airplane was loaded with 300 gallons of water and spray solution and an undetermined amount of fuel was added to the left fuel tank. The pilot did not visually check the fuel tanks during the preflight inspection. After departure, he flew 5 miles south of the private strip and proceeded to spray a 130-acre field. When the spray solution was depleted, the pilot flew back toward the private strip and noticed that the fuel quantity indicators showed 1/4 full in the right tank and 1/8 full in the left tank. The pilot stated that, about 1.5 miles southeast of the private strip and about 400 ft above ground level, the engine "sputtered" and experienced a loss of power. He made a forced landing to a field, and the airplane entered a swampy area and then nosed over. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a postaccident examination of the airplane, no fuel was found in the fuel lines to the engine or in the fuel tanks. Based on the evidence, it is likely that the airplane was not fueled with sufficient fuel to complete the flight and that this, combined with the pilot's failure to check the fuel quantity before departure and ensure that sufficient fuel was onboard for the flight, resulted in fuel exhaustion.

The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.