- Date
- June 12, 2008, 18:40 local (Jun 13, 2008, 00:40 UTC)
- Place
- Wilder, ID
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N48571Grumman-Schweizer G-164B
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 28, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20080612834779A
- Case key
- 68221
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 loss of engine power as a result of failure of the supercharger. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for the 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
According to the pilot, he was applying fertilizer to a field of hops. After several passes over the field, a total engine failure occurred. The pilot was forced to land the airplane in a small onion field. The pilot said that after touchdown, he "forced the aircraft into the ground to avoid collision with a raised canal." The airplane made "one complete forward flip," which destroyed the tail section, and came to rest nose down. Following its recovery to the operator's facility, the airplane was examined by the pilot and a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. They noted metal chips and oil in the engine exhaust pipes and found all the spark plugs to be contaminated with oil. According to the pilot, these signatures were indicative of a supercharger failure.
Factual narrative
On June 12, 2008, about 1840 mountain daylight time, a Grumman-Schweizer G-164B, N48571, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Wilder, Idaho. The commercial pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, Carol's Flying Service of Wilder. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local aerial application flight and no flight plan was filed. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137.
According to the pilot, he was applying fertilizer to a field of hops. After several passes over the field, a total engine failure occurred. The pilot was forced to land the airplane in a small onion field. After touchdown, the pilot "forced the aircraft into the ground to avoid collision with a raised canal." The airplane made "one complete forward flip," which destroyed the tail section, and came to rest nose down.
Following its recovery to the operator's facility, the airplane was examined by the pilot and a Federal Aviation Administration inspector. They noted metal chips and oil in the engine exhaust pipes and found all the spark plugs to be contaminated with oil. According to the pilot, these signatures were indicative of a supercharger failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N48571
- Reported as
- Grumman-Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 82B
- Airframe hours
- 9,308
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R-985, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Carol's Flying Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2008
- Departed
- Wilder, ID
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
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2008
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 9,478 total · 4,000 in this make and model · 9,382 as pilot in command · 80 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 14 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F
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 N48571 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.