# NTSB CEN12LA497: Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B, N6676Q, Big Springs, NE, July 30, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: July 30, 2012, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Big Springs, NE - Coordinates: 41.059623, -102.069801 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.0596&lon=-102.0698&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report February 14, 2013 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 84520 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN12LA497 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/84520/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84520 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA497 ## Probable cause The total loss of engine power as a result of the pilot inadvertently shutting the engine off. Contributing to the accident was the modification to the engine control layout. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: incorrect action selection](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010/cases.md?model=3952802), [All aircraft, 397 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010/cases.md) - [Engine controls](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057600): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Design (probable cause); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057600/cases.md?model=3952802), [All aircraft, 51 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01057600/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute-cruise: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=3952802), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=3952802), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Landing: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B, 17 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=3952802), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) ## Analysis Shortly after takeoff, the pilot adjusted the engine controls of the agricultural airplane for cruise flight. The airplane’s engine then lost power, and the pilot conducted a forced landing in a corn field. The airplane’s engine had previously been converted to another version of the engine. As a result of the conversion, the airplane had a different throttle quadrant; the engine controls were reversed from the previous propeller and mixture layout. The pilot reported that he inadvertently shut the engine off while adjusting the engine for cruise flight. ## Factual narrative On July 30, 2012, about 1500 mountain daylight time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164B agricultural airplane, N6676Q, experienced a loss of engine power near Big Springs, Nebraska. The commercial rated pilot, sole occupant, was not injured during the forced landing and the airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was owned and operated by Downs Farm Inc. Lindsay, Montana, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an agricultural flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local flight, which operated without a flight plan. The pilot reported that he was climbing for cruise flight and had adjusted the engine for a cruise power setting, when the engine lost power. The pilot conducted a forced landing into a corn field and the airplane came to rest inverted. The pilot added that the fuel tanks were about three-quarters full of fuel. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the site; the airplane sustained substantial damage to the airframe and the engine was nearly separated from the airframe by the impact. The airplane’s engine had previously been converted to another version of the engine. As a result of the conversion, the airplane had a different throttle quadrant; the engine controls were reversed from the previous propeller and mixture layout. The pilot stated that while he was adjusting the engine for cruise flight, the pilot inadvertently shut the engine off. The pilot was unable to restart the engine and elected to conduct a forced landing. The inspector noted that this was the pilot’s first spray season. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N6676Q](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N6676Q), registered now, S/N 197B (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: GRUMMAN ACFT ENG COR-SCHWEIZER G-164B - Registry model: [Grumman Acft ENG Cor-Schweizer G-164B](https://openairdocs.org/model/grumman-acft-eng-cor-schweizer-g-164b) (registry code 3952802) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 197B - Airframe hours: 8818 - Engines: Pratt&Whitney R-1340 reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: McClung Aerial Spraying - Registered owner: McClung Aerial Spraying - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, July 28, 2012 - Departed: Big Springs, NE - Destination: Big Springs, NE ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 22; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review June 20, 2012; seat: single; flight hours: 522 total, 245 in this make and model, 332 as pilot in command, 282 in the last 90 days, 200 in the last 30 days, 8 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 100 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20120730016349A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20120730016349A), Jul 30, 2012: Grumman Acft Eng Cor-Schweizer G-164B, Big Springs, NE, Substantial damage. Aircraft departed with full fuel (80 gallons) and 160 gallons of (brigade) chemical. During climb out the aircraft lost power. The pilot dumped the chemical… ## Other investigations on N6676Q (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CHI99LA046](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI99LA046), Dec 3, 1998: Grumman G-164B (N6676Q), Naponee, NE, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to identify the wires prior to spraying the field and the low altitude at which the pilot was flying. A factor was the wires which the airplane contacted. ## Docket (2 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 2, 2013, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84520. 1.0 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 868 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384291&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Other Pertinent Forms and Reports (Record of Conversation) (item 2, .PDF, 145 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40384292&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Other%20Pertinent%20Forms%20and%20Reports%20%20(Record%20of%20Conversation)-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.