# NTSB CEN20LA364: Grumman G164, N2437D, Ogallala, NE, August 24, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: August 24, 2020, 15:50 local (21:50 UTC) - Place: Ogallala, NE - Coordinates: 41.1175, -101.804725 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.1175&lon=-101.8047&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration, Covington Aircraft - NTSB case key (mKey): 101860 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN20LA364 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101860/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101860 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA364 ## Probable cause The total loss of engine power due to a failure of the master connecting rod. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Engine (reciprocating): recip engine power section](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058520): Aircraft › Aircraft power plant · Failure; cases with it: [Schweizer G-164B, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058520/cases.md?model=8059055), [All aircraft, 233 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01058520/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Schweizer G-164B, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=8059055), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Schweizer G-164B, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=8059055), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Schweizer G-164B, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=8059055), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis Shortly after takeoff, the pilot of an agricultural airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. Unable to restore engine power, the pilot made an emergency landing in a cornfield, which resulted in substantial damage to the airplane. The engine was removed from the airframe and an engine examination revealed small bits of metal in the oil filter element and that the engine was seized. The top cylinder was removed, the cylinder’s connecting rod was broken, and metal fragments were noted inside the engine. A bottom cylinder was then removed, and a broken section of the master connecting rod was retrieved. Metallurgical examination determined that the connecting rod separated due to overstress fracture, with no indication of pre-existing cracking. ## Factual narrative On August 24, 2020, about 1550 mountain daylight time, a Grumman G164B airplane, N2437D, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Ogallala, Nebraska. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 agricultural flight. According to the pilot, the airplane had flown earlier in the day, and he departed for another agricultural flight. The pilot stated the engine lost power during the climb shortly after takeoff. He dumped the load, checked the magnetos, and made sure the fuel was on. The pilot then made an emergency landing in a cornfield about 1.85 miles from the airport. Upon landing, the bottom wing impacted corn, which caused the airplane to nose over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings and empennage during the forced landing. A postaccident engine examination revealed small metallic pieces in the oil filter element. The engine could not be rotated by hand. The top cylinder was removed; the cylinder’s connecting rod was broken, and metal fragments were noted inside the engine (see figure). Figure: Top cylinder with broken connecting rod. A bottom cylinder was then removed, and a broken section of the master connecting rod was retrieved and sent to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Materials Laboratory for a detailed examination. The NTSB lab noted that different areas of the connecting rod fracture surface were consistent with overstress fracture. There were no indications of pre-existing cracking features. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N2437D](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N2437D), registered now, S/N 764B (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Grumman G164 (B) - Registry model: [Schweizer G-164B](https://openairdocs.org/model/schweizer-g-164b) (registry code 8059055) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 764B - Year built: 1984 - Airframe hours: 3480 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney R-1340-S1H1-G 600 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Mcclung Aerial Spraying Inc - Registered owner: McClung Aerial Spraying, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, February 14, 2020 - Departed: OGA, Ogallala, NE - Destination: OGA, Ogallala, NE - Airport: OGA, Ogallala Searle Field, runway 26, 5,102 × 75 ft, concrete - Equipment: Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 30; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review March 2, 2019; seat: single; restraint: 4-point; flight hours: 2,053 total, 1,660 in this make and model, 1,880 as pilot in command, 77 in the last 90 days, 30 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 160° at 11 knots, gusting 14 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 97 °F, dew point 54 °F - Altimeter: 29.96 inHg - Observed at: KOGA, 5 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 20200824012689A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200824012689A), Aug 24, 2020: Schweizer Aircraft Corp G-164B, Ogallala, NE, Substantial damage. On August 24, 2020, at 1550 MDT, G164B, N2437D took off from Searle Field Airport (koga) from runway 26. The pilot reported, shortly after take-off the… ## Docket (6 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 16, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101860. 18.7 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 3.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11832956&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120_1__Redacted-Rel.pdf - Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation - covington engines (item 2, PDF, 1 page, 224 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=11833473&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=20CERTIFICATION%20OF%20PARTY%20REPRESENTATIVE364%20(002)%201-signed_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 3, PDF, 6 pages, 938 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12495411&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%201-Rel.pdf - Maintenance records (excerpts) (item 4, PDF, 4 pages, 3.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12675381&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Mx%20records_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 5, PDF, 2 pages, 5.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12495603&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=NTSB%20Wreckage%20Release%20signed_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Materials laboratory factual report (item 6, PDF, 14 pages, 19 photos, 5.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12671132&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=21-064%20-%20Materials%20Lab%20Factual%20Report%20(CEN20LA364)-Rel.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.