The pilot stated that he considered 'going to cross-feed' with the fuel selector controls, but determined that 'there didn't seem to be a need.' According to the pilot, the airplane was about 12 nautical miles from the Georgetown airport at that time. At the time the decision was made to divert, the left gauge was showing approximately 10 gallons, and the right was indicating 25 gallons. The pilot then elected to make a precautionary landing at Georgetown to try to determine whether the fuel on the left side had really declined that much or whether there was a problem with the gauge.

The pilot stated that as a result of the fuel loss trend, he reduced power to 55 percent with an indicated fuel flow of slightly less than 10 gallons per hour. He noticed that the indicated fuel quantity on the gauge for the left fuel tank was 'dropping at an excessive rate.' At the time, the right gauge was showing slightly less than 30 gallons, and the left gauge was down to approximately 15 gallons. In the vicinity of Waco, the pilot noticed that the left fuel gauge was showing a greater decline than the right. The pilot recalled that the indicated fuel flow to both engines was the same at approximately 12 gallons per hour. A power setting of 75 percent was used in the climb to 6,500 feet, and 65 percent for cruise. The pilot stated that upon departure from Addison, the indicated fuel onboard was 35 gallons per side. After a brief stay at Addison, he departed to fly back to Burnet. He reported that the flight to Addison was uneventful and lasted about 1.5 hours. He further stated that the airplane had been 'topped off' with fuel several days prior to the accident. He noted that there was about 55 gallons of fuel in each wing tank.

In a telephone interview with the Safety Board, and in a written statement provided about 1 week after the accident, the pilot stated that he visually checked the fuel in the airplane prior to departing for a flight from Burnet to Addison on the morning of the accident. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. The personal flight departed from Addison Airport, near Dallas, and was en route to Georgetown. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The certificated commercial pilot and his two passengers were not injured.

The forced landing was preceded by a total loss of engine power during a precautionary landing.

On July 11, 2003, about 1950 central daylight time, a Piper PA-34-220T, N2463M, registered to TK2 Bentwood Ltd., of Austin Texas, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees during a forced landing near Burnet, Texas.

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