- Date
- May 4, 2000, 08:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Ephrata, WA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8130KGulfstream-Schweizer G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000504008939A
- Case key
- 49172
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
Loss of engine power due to failure of the number three cylinder exhaust valve push rod. Soft terrain encountered during the landing roll-out was a 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 pilot reported that while on a routine aerial application flight, engine oil began to appear on the aircraft's windscreen. Shortly thereafter, the aircraft's engine began to 'backfire and eventually quit'. The pilot executed a forced landing in an open field. During the landing roll-out, the aircraft encountered soft terrain and nosed over. Post-accident examination of the aircraft's engine revealed that the exhaust valve push rod on the number three cylinder had failed.
Factual narrative
On May 4, 2000, at 0830 Pacific daylight time, a Gulfstream-Schweizer G-164B (Ag Cat), N8130K, was substantially damaged during an off-airport forced landing, following a loss of engine power 2 miles northwest of Ephrata, Washington. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local 14CFR137 aerial application flight. The flight originated from a service airstrip approximately 15 minutes prior to the accident.
The pilot reported that while on a routine aerial application flight, engine oil began to appear on the aircraft's windscreen. Shortly thereafter, approximately 2 miles northwest of Ephrata, the aircraft's engine began to "backfire and eventually quit". The pilot executed a forced landing in an open field of spring wheat. During the landing roll-out, the aircraft encountered soft terrain and nosed over. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to the wings and empennage.
An FAA Inspector from the Spokane, Washington, Flight Standards District Office, inspected the aircraft after the accident and reported that the exhaust valve push rod on the number three cylinder had failed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8130K
- Reported as
- Gulfstream-Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 576 B
- Airframe hours
- 7,800
- Engine
- P&W R-1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- The Cropduster Inc, doing business as The Cropduster Inc.
- Registered owner
- Fred W. Meise
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 20, 2000 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- Coulee City, WA
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
- 30
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 3,800 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 3,600 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 150 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- EPH, 2 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.