- Date
- August 6, 2008, 06:30 local (12:30 UTC)
- Place
- Walsh, CO
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7487Grumman G-164A
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Powerplant sys/comp malf/fail
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report January 22, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20080806857589A
- Case key
- 68621
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 total failure of a cylinder head assembly. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot was spraying a corn field; as he was making an aerial application pass, a cylinder on the engine cracked and the engine lost power. The pilot made a forced landing in a nearby field. The airplane crossed a road at a speed of approximately 25 mph and the tail bounced up. After crossing the road, the main tires settled into soft earth and the airplane nosed over. In addition to a bent propeller and "minor top wing damage," the vertical stabilizer was crushed.
Factual narrative
On August 6, 2008, approximately 0700 mountain daylight time, a Grumman G-164A, N7487, registered to and operated by Doyles Ag Services, and piloted by a commercial pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over on soft terrain following a loss of power while maneuvering near Walsh, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The aerial application flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 137 without a flight plan. The pilot was not injured. The local flight originated from Springfields (8V7), Colorado, approximately 0630.
The pilot said he was spraying a corn field southeast of Walsh. As he was making an aerial application pass, a cylinder on the engine cracked --- "blew a cylinder" --- and the engine lost power. The pilot made a forced landing in a nearby field. The airplane crossed a road at a speed of approximately 25 mph and the tail bounced up in the air. After crossing the road, the main tires settled into soft earth and the airplane nosed over. In addition to a bent propeller and "minor top wing damage," the vertical stabilizer was crushed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7487
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 964
- Airframe hours
- 5,821
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R1340-AN-1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Doyles Ag Services LLC
- Registered owner
- Doyles Ag Services LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2008 · 690 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Two Buttes, CO
- Destination
- NONE · Two Buttes, CO
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
- 42
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 1, 2007
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 2,500 total · 1,003 in this make and model · 2,400 as pilot in command · 110 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 200° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.