CEN17LA230

The commercial pilot was conducting an aerial application flight. He was approaching a rice field after loading product at the company base when the engine lost partial power. The pilot executed a forced landing into the rice field; the right main landing gear struck a levee, and the airplane flipped inverted, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane or engine and did not show any evidence of fuel. Although the top fuel tank was breached in the accident, the green grass around and underneath the wreckage did not show any evidence of fuel contamination or blight. It is likely that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion.

On June 14, 2017, about 1820 central daylight time, a Grumman G164 agricultural airplane, N7501Z, was substantially damaged following a forced landing after a partial loss of engine power near Delaplaine, Arkansas. The commercial pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to HDS Inc., of Beech Grove, Arkansas, and operated by Kin-Co Ag Aviation Inc., of Beech Grove, Arkansas, as a local agricultural flight under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a company flight plan was filed. The flight originated at 1800 from the operator's private airstrip located in Delaplaine, Arkansas. The pilot reported that he was en route to spray a rice field after loading chemicals at the company base. While approaching the field, the engine was not producing full power. The pilot elected to executed a forced landing into a rice field. As the airplane landed in the field, the right main landing gear struck a levee, and the airplane flipped inverted, resulting in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. There were no witnesses to the accident. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any mechanical anomalies with the airplane or engine and did not show any evidence of fuel. Although the top fuel tank was breached in the accident, fresh green grass around and underneath the wreckage did not show any evidence of fuel contamination, or blight.