Narrative:

During a local scenic flight with one passenger aboard and enroute return to the airport of departure; approximately five miles from the airport the aircraft suffered a loss of power and sputtering and then complete loss of power. During my attempt to restart; carburetor heat was applied; and fuel selector valve checked. I then suspected that sufficient fuel was not getting to the drain ports from the main fuel tank to the engine. Placing the aircraft in a slipping configuration the engine did restart but the aircraft could not maintain sufficient climb or level flight.upon departing I determined there to be 16-18 gallons of 100LL fuel on board and planned a 15-minute flight and normal average of 12-14 gallon fuel burn per hr. Which would be more than adequate to conduct the flight and include safe reserve. I have flown this aircraft for more than 20 years and thousands of hours without incident and am confident in my knowledge of the normal operation and performance characteristics.my decision to make a landing on a local two lane highway was based on my intimate knowledge of the area and often have considered it as the best alternative to land in the event I ever did experience a true emergency. The landing was uneventful as there was no damage or injuries to any persons; property or aircraft.18 gallons of 100LL fuel was added and sump drains checked... No debris or water was detected. The airplane started normally; and a high rpm run-up was done for several minutes and the engine operated normally. After shutting down the sumps were again checked with same results and another high RPM runup was done. As a licensed FAA aircraft and power plant mechanic I then determined it was safe to depart from the highway and safely fly solo back to my base airport five miles away.local officials secured the traffic on the highway and I departed without incident.after arrival at home base the fuel was drained and found no clogging in the main gascolater screen but upon removing the fuel sight gauge a considerable amount of debris was found in the fuel tank area near the gauge port. Some of the pieces appeared to be of a type of metal and other as decomposed silicone sealant material.next will be removing the fuel tank and thoroughly inspect for additional contamination that could have caused the fuel to not adequately flow to the supply sumps at both locations on the tank.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Stearman pilot reported making a forced landing on a highway after the engine failed in flight because of fuel feed issues related to fuel tank contamination.

Narrative: During a local scenic flight with one passenger aboard and enroute return to the airport of departure; approximately five miles from the airport the aircraft suffered a loss of power and sputtering and then complete loss of power. During my attempt to restart; carburetor heat was applied; and fuel selector valve checked. I then suspected that sufficient fuel was not getting to the drain ports from the main fuel tank to the engine. Placing the aircraft in a slipping configuration the engine did restart but the aircraft could not maintain sufficient climb or level flight.Upon departing I determined there to be 16-18 gallons of 100LL fuel on board and planned a 15-minute flight and normal average of 12-14 gallon fuel burn per hr. which would be more than adequate to conduct the flight and include safe reserve. I have flown this aircraft for more than 20 years and thousands of hours without incident and am confident in my knowledge of the normal operation and performance characteristics.My decision to make a landing on a local two lane highway was based on my intimate knowledge of the area and often have considered it as the best alternative to land in the event I ever did experience a true emergency. The landing was uneventful as there was no damage or injuries to any persons; property or aircraft.18 gallons of 100LL fuel was added and sump drains checked... No debris or water was detected. The airplane started normally; and a high rpm run-up was done for several minutes and the engine operated normally. After shutting down the sumps were again checked with same results and another high RPM runup was done. As a licensed FAA Aircraft and Power plant mechanic I then determined it was safe to depart from the highway and safely fly solo back to my base airport five miles away.Local officials secured the traffic on the highway and I departed without incident.After arrival at home base the fuel was drained and found no clogging in the main gascolater screen but upon removing the fuel sight gauge a considerable amount of debris was found in the fuel tank area near the gauge port. Some of the pieces appeared to be of a type of metal and other as decomposed silicone sealant material.Next will be removing the fuel tank and thoroughly inspect for additional contamination that could have caused the fuel to not adequately flow to the supply sumps at both locations on the tank.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.