- Date
- July 18, 1998, 10:50 local (15:50 UTC)
- Place
- Belzoni, MS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8488VRockwell S-2R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 11, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980718026809A
- Case key
- 43200
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
The malfunction in the engine blower section, resulting in oil starvation, the seizure of the engine.
Analysis
The pilot had completed spraying a field, and was returning to the airstrip to pick up more chemicals. The flight was at an altitude of 400 feet when the pilot reported that the airplane's engine lost complete power. The pilot elected to make a forced landing in a rice field. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear wheel got caught in mud, causing the airplane to pull left, the right wing to strike the ground, and the airplane to come to rest on it's nose. Examination of the engine revealed that most of the engine oil had been pumped overboard from the area of the blower impeller, due to a malfunction of the blower, and caused the engine to seize.
Factual narrative
On July 18, 1998, about 1050 central daylight time, a Rockwell S-2R, N8488V, owned by a private individual, operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight, impacted with the ground during a forced landing near Belzoni, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged. The commercial-rated pilot was not injured. The flight had originated from a private airstrip, at 1015.
The pilot had completed spraying a field, and was returning to the airstrip to pick up more chemicals. The flight was at an altitude of 400 feet when the pilot reported that the airplane's engine lost complete power. The pilot elected to make a forced landing in a rice field. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear wheel got caught in mud, causing the airplane to pull left, the right wing to strike the ground, and the airplane to come to rest on it's nose. Examination of the engine revealed something had broken in the blower, causing oil to leak.
Further examination of the engine, by the FAA, revealed that most of the engine oil had "been pumped overboard" from the area of the blower impeller, due to a "malfunction" of the blower, and caused the "engine to seize."
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8488V
- Reported as
- Rockwell S-2R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2248R
- Airframe hours
- 9,110
- Engine
- P&W R1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- James A. Fuqua
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 18, 1998 · 88 hours before
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
- 25
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 3,907 total · 2,271 in this make and model · 3,834 as pilot in command · 161 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 15 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GLH, 40 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.