- Date
- June 1, 2006, 17:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Dighton, KS
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N14RYGrumman G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 3, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20060601013309A
- Case key
- 63817
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The broken rocker arm boss causing the number 1 cylinder exhaust valve to stay closed and subsequently the engine failed. A factor contributing to the accident was the soft field the airplane set down in.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane was taking off on an aerial application flight. Shortly after lifting off, the airplane's engine lost power. The commercial pilot set the airplane down on the runway toward the departure end. The airplane went off the end of the runway and into a wheat field. The airplane's main gear tires sank into the soft wet soil and the airplane subsequently nosed over causing the engine to fracture and separate from the fuselage and crushing the vertical stabilizer and rudder downward. The pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. An examination of the airplane's engine revealed that the rocker arm boss on the number 1 cylinder had fractured leaving the exhaust valve on the cylinder closed and resulting in the subsequent engine failure.
Factual narrative
The airplane was taking off on an aerial application flight. Shortly after lifting off, the airplane's engine lost power. The commercial pilot set the airplane down on the runway toward the departure end. The airplane went off the end of the runway and into a wheat field. The airplane's main gear tires sank into the soft wet soil and the airplane subsequently nosed over causing the engine to fracture and separate from the fuselage and crushing the vertical stabilizer and rudder downward. The pilot sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. An examination of the airplane's engine revealed that the rocker arm boss on the number 1 cylinder had fractured leaving the exhaust valve on the cylinder closed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N14RY
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 271B
- Engine
- Continental R-975, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Root Spraying, Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- K65 · Dighton, KS
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 29
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 7,206 total · 3,500 in this make and model · 28 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.