- Date
- April 29, 1995, 10:40 local (15:40 UTC)
- Place
- Morse, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6746KGulfstream-Schweizer G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 23, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950429009939A
- Case key
- 19406
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
Power loss due to a cracked intake valve pipe assembly. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
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
After making one spray pass, the pilot pulled up to make another pass. During the maneuver, the engine lost power and the airplane impacted an adjacent field. A mechanic who examined the engine reported finding damage on the intake side of the #5 cylinder, the intake valve retaining spring missing, and cracks in the intake pipe casting.
Factual narrative
On April 29, 1995, approximately 1040 central daylight time, a Gulfstream-Schweizer G-164B, N6746K, was destroyed during a forced landing near Morse, Louisiana. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration inspector he had been spraying zinc fertilizer on a rice field. After making a spray pass, he pulled up and turned left to make another pass. Beyond this point, he could not remember any further details and there were no known witnesses to the accident. The pilot told his employer all he remembered was the airplane "just falling." In his pilot/operator report; however, the pilot said the "engine failed and aircraft lost altitude and impacted neighboring rice field."
The FAA inspector who examined the wreckage noted the propeller blades were bent straight back with no twisting. Additionally, there were no chordwise scratching on the cambered surfaces of the blades. A mechanic later found damage to the intake side of the number five cylinder. The intake valve retaining spring was missing and there were cracks in the intake pipe casting.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6746K
- Reported as
- Gulfstream-Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 447B
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Ledeuxs Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 14, 1995 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Crowley, LA
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
- 39
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,696 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 2,000 as pilot in command · 190 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 15 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- LFT, 26 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.
Other investigations on N6746K · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.