- Date
- June 20, 1997, 18:40 local (23:40 UTC)
- Place
- Edwards, MS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N6816QSchweizer G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970620018449A
- Case key
- 38293
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
failure of the distributor drive gear in the right magneto, resulting in loss of engine power and a forced landing. The lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing was a related factor.
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 engine lost power as the pilot pulled up from an aerial application run. The pilot immediately made a forced landing in a field and was unable to stop the aircraft before it collided with trees at the end of the field. Postcrash examination of the engine showed the right magneto distributor drive gear had several gear teeth missing, and the gear would occasionally not drive the distributor. This caused the magneto to lose timing with the engine. The pilot said he did not have time to cycle the magneto switches before making a forced landing.
Factual narrative
On June 20, 1997, about 1840 central daylight time, a Schweizer G164B, N6816Q, registered to Grays Flying Service, Inc., collided with trees while making a forced landing following loss of engine power at Edwards, Mississippi, while on a Title 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft received substantial damage and the commercial-rated pilot was not injured. The flight originated from Edwards, the same day, about 1830.
The pilot stated during pull-up after an application run, the engine lost power. He made a forced landing in a soybean field and could not stop before colliding with trees at the end of the field.
Postcrash examination of the engine by an FAA inspector showed the right magneto had malfunctioned. The magneto was replaced and the engine was operated to full power with no further evidence of failure or malfunction. Examination of the right magneto showed the distributor drive gear had several gear teeth missing. The gear would not turn the distributor on occasion, causing the magneto to lose timing with the engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6816Q
- Reported as
- Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 320B
- Airframe hours
- 5,510
- Engine
- P&W R-985-14B, 450 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Grays Flying Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 3, 1997 · 50 hours before
- Departed
- M16
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 11,000 total · 5,000 in this make and model · 11,000 as pilot in command · 50 in the last 90 days · 45 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JAN, 21 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 N6816Q · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.