CEN12LA458

The pilot reported that he made two aerial application passes over the wheat field. During the reversal turn on the second pass, the airplane cleared a set of power lines and began to settle. The pilot applied full throttle, but the engine did not respond. He flared the airplane and completed a forced landing to the wheat field. During the landing, the landing gear failed, which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing. The examination of the two propeller blades revealed that they both exhibited leading edge gouges, chordwise scratches, and blade twisting, which is consistent with the engine operating at the time of ground impact. The atmospheric conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to the accumulation of carburetor ice while operating at a sustained idle engine power setting. However, the engine power setting used during the aerial application flight would have been significantly higher than an idle engine setting; therefore, it is unlikely that carburetor ice accumulated during the accident flight.

On July 7, 2012, about 1300 central daylight time, a Grumman G-164/A, N6583, sustained substantial damage during a forced landing to a wheat field after a reported loss of power near Egeland, North Dakota. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed. The local flight departed from the Cando Municipal Airport (9D7), Cando, North Dakota, at an unknown time. The pilot reported that he made two application passes over the wheat field. During the reversal turn on the second pass, the airplane cleared a set of power lines and began to settle. The pilot applied full throttle, but the engine did not respond, and he airplane continued to sink. He flared the airplane and landed in the wheat field. During the landing roll, the landing gear failed resulting in substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot stated, "As far as I could tell, the engine stopped making power and settled in the field." The airplane was equipped with a 450-horsepower Pratt and Whitney R-985 carbureted engine. The examination of the propeller blades revealed that both propeller blades exhibited leading edge gouges, chordwise scratches, and blade twist, which was consistent with the engine operating at the time of ground impact. At 1235, the surface weather observation at Rugby, North Dakota, located 39 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, was: wind 250 degrees at 9 knots; 10 miles visibility; sky clear; temperature 25 degrees Celsius; dew point 17 degrees Celsius; altimeter 30.23 inches of mercury. The FAA Carburetor Icing Probability Chart indicated that there was the potential of accruing carburetor ice while operating at a sustained idle engine power setting.