CEN13LA519

The commercial pilot was conducting a repositioning flight from the airport to a private agricultural airstrip. The pilot reported that, about 2 minutes into the flight, the engine lost rpm. He then saw smoke coming out of the engine cowl, and oil began to splatter onto the windshield. As the airplane started to descend, the pilot maneuvered it to land in a plowed field. After touchdown, the pilot intentionally ground looped the airplane to avoid striking a canal bank, and it then came to rest upright. An examination of the airplane and radial engine revealed that one of the engine cylinders had failed. No other engine anomalies were found. The pilot reported that the most recent annual inspection was completed about 3 months before the accident at a total airframe time of 16,692 hours. No other information about the engine and its previous maintenance history was found during the investigation.

On August 13, 2013, about 1530 central daylight time, a Gulfstream G164B agricultural airplane, N8222K, was substantially damaged following a forced landing after a loss of engine power near Eagle Lake, Texas. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by LL Flying Service of East Bernard, Texas, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a repositioning flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at 1525 from the Eagle Lake Airport (ELA), and was en route to a private agricultural airstrip near Wallace, Texas. The pilot reported that about two minutes into the flight to Wallace, the engine lost RPM. He saw smoke coming out of the engine cowl and oil began to splatter onto the windshield. As the airplane started to descend, the pilot maneuvered the airplane to land in a plowed field. After touchdown, the pilot intentionally ground-looped the airplane to avoid striking a canal bank, resulting in collapsed landing gear and substantial damage to the wing and empennage structures. The airplane came to rest upright in the field and the pilot exited uninjured. An examination of the airplane and radial engine revealed that one of the cylinders had failed. No other engine anomalies were discovered other than the failed cylinder. The pilot reported that the most recent annual inspection was completed on May 2, 2013, at a total airframe time of 16,692 hours. No other information about the engine and its previous maintenance history was discovered during the investigation.