- Date
- July 8, 1995, 08:30 local (14:30 UTC)
- Place
- Burley, ID
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8946HGrumman G-164A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 8, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950708017279A
- Case key
- 42180
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 total loss of engine power due to fatigue failure of the crankshaft. A factor in the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
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 stated that while conducting an aerial application run, the engine experienced a sudden stoppage. During the forced landing roll, the aircraft collided with a pile of rocks and nosed over. The engine was disassembled, and the the rear throw of the crankshaft was found to have failed due to fatigue.
Factual narrative
On July 8, 1995, approximately 0830 mountain daylight time (MDT), a Grumman G-164A, N8946H, nosed over during an attempted forced landing in a field about 15 miles north of Burley, Idaho. The commercial pilot was not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage. The aerial application flight, which departed Burley Municipal Airport about 20 minutes earlier, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT transmission.
According to the operator, the aircraft experienced a total loss of engine power during an application run, and the pilot attempted a forced landing in the field he was spraying. When the aircraft touched down on the soft dirt of the furrowed field, it encountered a pile of rocks and nosed over.
The engine was disassembled by Aero Engines, Inc.. They noted that the rear throw of the crankshaft had failed due to fatigue.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8946H
- Reported as
- Grumman G-164A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1583
- Engine
- P&W R-1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Farm Flight Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- BYI · 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
- 37
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 6,200 total · 4,000 in this make and model · 6,000 as pilot in command · 125 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days · 10 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BYI
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.