# NTSB CEN13LA519: Gulfstream-Schweizer Gulfstream AM G 164B, N8222K, Eagle Lake, TX, August 13, 2013 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 13, 2013, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC) - Place: Eagle Lake, TX - Coordinates: 29.521667, -96.205833 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.5217&lon=-96.2058&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report June 16, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA FSDO Houston - NTSB case key (mKey): 87945 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN13LA519 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/87945/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87945 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN13LA519 ## Probable cause The failure of one of the engine cylinders, which resulted in the total loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Engine (reciprocating): recip eng cyl section](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058530): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Failure (probable cause); cases with it: [Gulfstream-Schweizer A/C GULFSTREAM AM G-164B, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058530/cases.md?model=3979904), [All aircraft, 373 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058530/cases.md) - [Terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021000): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome; cases with it: [Gulfstream-Schweizer A/C GULFSTREAM AM G-164B, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021000/cases.md?model=3979904), [All aircraft, 267 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Enroute: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Gulfstream-Schweizer A/C GULFSTREAM AM G-164B, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=3979904), [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: [Gulfstream-Schweizer A/C GULFSTREAM AM G-164B, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=3979904), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) ## Analysis 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. ## Factual narrative 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. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8222K](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8222K), registered now, S/N 617-B, built 1979 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: GULFSTREAM-SCHWEIZER GULFSTREAM AM G 164B (B) - Registry model: [Gulfstream-Schweizer A/C GULFSTREAM AM G-164B](https://openairdocs.org/model/gulfstream-schweizer-a-c-gulfstream-am-g-164b) (registry code 3979904) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney R1340 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (registry code 52016, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 617-B - Year built: 1979 - Airframe hours: 16692 - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Operator: Hicks Lowell DBA, doing business as LL Flying Service - Registered owner: Hicks Lowell DBA - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, May 2, 2013 - Departed: ELA, Eagle Lake, TX - Destination: Wallace, TX - Flight plan: Unknown - Airport: kela, Eagle Lake ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 53; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review March 14, 2012; seat: center; flight hours: 8,519 total, 8,000 in this make and model, 300 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 130° at 9 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 99 °F, dew point 66 °F - Altimeter: 29.93 inHg - Observed at: ARM, 23 nm away ## 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 20130813019489A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130813019489A), Aug 13, 2013: Gulfstream-Schweizer A/C Corp GULFSTREAM AM G-164B, Eagle Lake, TX, Substantial damage. On August 14, 2013 I met the owner of N8222K at approximately 0900 and we drove to the site of the accident, located in a milo field north east of Eagle Lake… ## Other investigations on N8222K (3) 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 FTW04LA227](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW04LA227), Aug 31, 2004: Grumman 164B (N8222K), East Bernard, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The loss of engine power as result of the failure of the number four cylinder. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing. - [NTSB FTW04LA182](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW04LA182), Jul 12, 2004: Gulfstream-Schweizer G-164B (N8222K), Eagle Lake, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing. - [NTSB MKC84LA210](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MKC84LA210), Jul 9, 1984: Grumman G164B (N8222K), Mc Gehee, AR, substantial damage ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 2, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=87945. 83 KB in all. - Photo (item 1, .PDF, 1 photo, 83 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439514&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photo-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.