On December 16, 2011, about 1130 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-38-112, N9279T, crashed during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Merry Hill, North Carolina. The airplane received substantial damage and the non-certificated pilot/owner was seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight, which originated from Plymouth Municipal Airport (PMZ), Plymouth, North Carolina, at an unknown time. The flight was destined for the pilot/owner's private strip and was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. According to witness statements provided to the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the airplane was maneuvering at a tree-top height towards an open field, when the engine stopped producing power. The airplane then descended at a steep angle over the approach end of the field before it collided with terrain, nosed over and came to rest inverted. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspectors examined the airplane at the accident site on the day after the accident. Control continuity was established from the cockpit to all flight control surfaces, and there was no evidence of a preimpact mechanical anomaly with the aircraft structure, flight controls, or engine. The left fuel tank was selected on the fuel selector, and no fuel was found in the left tank. There was no odor of fuel, and no fuel staining present around the tank. The right fuel tank was also empty, but there was some fuel blighting of the vegetation located beneath the right fuel cap. The pilot/owner did not hold a pilot certificate. His most recent application for an FAA medical certificate was dated January 22, 1997. At that time the pilot was issued a student pilot certificate, which according to FAA records expired on January 31, 1999. The pilot could not be interviewed for several months due to his injuries, and attempts to contact him after he returned home from the hospital were unsuccessful. According to FAA records, the airplane was manufactured in 1978, and registered to the pilot on January 21, 1997. It was a two-seat, low-wing, fixed gear airplane that was equipped with a Lycoming O-235, 115-horsepower engine. The airplane's maintenance records were not recovered. The airplane's tachometer showed 3,847 aircraft hours at the accident site.