Report: ND candidate's crashed plane low on gas

[Ron Burgundy]

AP - A Republican congressional candidate's small plane had less than a quart of fuel in its tanks when he crash landed in a cornfield last month, a federal National Transportation Safety Board accident report says.

Duane Sand said he thought his single-engine Cessna 172 had plenty of fuel when its engines stopped and he crash-landed June 4 near Edgeley in southeastern North Dakota. He had spent about $500 on repairs to the plane last fall because its fuel gauges were not reading accurately, he said.

The report said Federal Aviation Administration inspectors found no odor of fuel and no fuel leakage at the crash site and that the plane had less than a quart of fuel on board.

The NTSB report is not a final determination of what caused the crash. Sand said Wednesday he was not aware of the report, and said he was "very troubled" by the implication that he crashed because he ran out of gas.

Sand, 43, was not seriously hurt in the crash. He is making his third bid for Congress and is running against Democrat Rep. Earl Pomeroy, who is seeking a ninth term.

source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080703/ap_on_re_us/sand_plane_crash [link]