Pretend You're an intrepid night cargo pilot flying for a company based out of exotic Elmira, New York. You just walked away from an epic crash that occurred shortly after takeoff in which you completely destroyed the aircraft in a blaze of glory and came out unscathed.

Fortunately, you were the sole pilot/occupant. There are surprisingly few flames from the crash as you walk through the cornfield back to the airport.

As you walk away, people you don't know come running from the airport and ask you "what happened?" You suddenly think back to when you were doing your various pre-flight, pre-takeoff checklists (solely from memory while you were taxiing and texting) and you couldn't remember what, if any, fuel might have been in the tanks.

What will you say to the people coming out to see you and why? What's the reasoning behind your response to these people?

Whose law controls the investigation of the crash? Will the NTSB participate in the investigation?