19970419006239A

Lost powr en route. Nosed over landing soft dirt field. Broken crankshaft. (-23) the aircraft departed a private strip (talton) at approximately 1300 EDT, 19 April 1997. This was a federal aviation regulation part 91 pleasure flight conducted in the local area. There were no passengers onboard. At approximately 1320 a reported engine failure caused the pilot to make an emergency landing in a recently plowed field. The aircraft rolled approximately 280 feet prior to the landing gear settling into the soft ground and flipping the aircraft onto its' back. Field inspection of the aircraft revealed that there was a crack in the engine block and the left engine mount broken away from the engine. At this time it is unclear if the engine block cracked in flight or if ground impact initiated the crack. There was no evidence of oil coming from the crack. The engine was hand propped approximately 8-12 inches after removing the right magneto cover and the #5 valve over. There was no motion detected in either the magneto or the valve train. This engine has a gear box located in the rear of the engine. This gear box drives the camshaft, both magnetos, tachometer, generator, and starter. A failure in this area could cause the engine to fail. The oil screen and fuel bowl were removed. There was no evidence of contamination in either. The pilot reported approximately 30 gallons of fuel on board. This engine has the automotive gas STC incorporated. The NTSB requested that a tear down be conducted. The owner can perform the tear down provided that an FAA inspector is present and that the NTSB or the FAA does not incur any charges for the tear down report. Other damage to the aircraft consisted of the vertical stabilizer being crushed, the left wing support struts bent, wheel pants damaged, engine cowling damaged, prop bent from ground impact, and other minor "cosmetic" damage.