FTW00LA097

En route from the airstrip to the field to apply fertilizer, the agricultural airplane's engine started to 'miss and lose power.' The pilot executed a forced landing. During the landing roll in a tilled field, the airplane nosed over to the inverted position. The #8 cylinder was found cracked. The cylinder had accumulated 337 hours since its last overhaul.

On March 13, 2000, at 1700 central standard time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164A agricultural airplane, N9785, nosed over during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Gillett, Arkansas. The airplane was owned and operated by Trites Flying Service, Inc., of Gillett, Arkansas. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the aerial application flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 flight originated from the operator's private airstrip a few minutes before the accident.

The pilot and operator reported that en route from the airstrip to the field to apply fertilizer, the engine started to "miss and lose power." The pilot landed the airplane in a tilled field, and during the landing roll, the airplane nosed over to the inverted position.

The FAA inspector, who responded to the site, found structural damage to the vertical stabilizer and rudder. The main spar for the upper left wing was damaged outboard of the strut. The FAA inspector and the operator found the #8 cylinder cracked. The cylinder had accumulated 337 hours since overhaul.