- Date
- July 7, 2004, 11:10 local (17:10 UTC)
- Place
- Wendell, ID
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7502YSchweizer G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 28, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-FSDO
- FAA report
- 20040707014359A
- Case key
- 59580
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
A cracked cylinder head which resulted in a loss of engine power while maneuvering. High vegetation 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 he had completed fertilizing one field and was proceeding to a second field at about 300 feet above ground level when the engine started running rough. The pilot increased mixture to full rich and checked the magnetos, however, the engine lost all power. The pilot maneuvered the aircraft to a corn field. During the landing roll, the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. During an inspection of the engine, one of the cylinders displayed a crack around the cylinder head.
Factual narrative
On July 7, 2004, at 1110 mountain daylight time, a Schweizer Aircraft Corp. G-164B, N7502Y, registered to and operated by Ken Spray LLC, as a 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight, experienced a loss of engine power and subsequently nosed over during the landing roll in a corn field located about five miles south of Wendell, Idaho. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from a private airstrip near Jerome, Idaho, about 40 minutes prior to the accident.
The pilot reported that he had completed fertilizing one field and was proceeding to a second field at about 300 feet above ground level when the engine started running rough. The pilot increased mixture to full rich and checked the magnetos, however, the engine lost all power. The pilot maneuvered the aircraft to a corn field. During the landing roll, the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted.
During an inspection of the engine by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector from the Boise, Idaho, Flight Standards District Office, the inspector reported that one of the cylinders displayed a crack around the cylinder head.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7502Y
- Reported as
- Schweizer G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 821B
- Airframe hours
- 6,184
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Ken Spray LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 3, 2004 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- Jerome, ID
- Destination
- TWF · Twin Falls, 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
- 61
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- February 28, 2003
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 15,965 total · 3,500 in this make and model · 15,965 as pilot in command · 219 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 16 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 46 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- TWF, 17 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 N7502Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.