Grumman G-164A N5324

Summary

On 29 July 2013 at about 13:35 local time, a Grumman G-164A registered N5324, operated by Crop Care Inc., was involved in an accident near Monte Vista, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 July 2013 at 13:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Monte Vista, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

37.5817, -106.0531

Aircraft

Grumman G-164A

Registration

N5324

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

1

Operator

Crop Care Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Monte Vista → Monte Vista

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA443

Nobody was injured.

The partial loss of engine power due to a fatigue failure of the engine cylinder exhaust rocker housing as a result of an excessively torqued rocker assembly.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the aerial-application airplane experienced a partial loss of engine power while en route to the field to be sprayed. He jettisoned the airplane's chemical load following the loss of engine power, but the airplane was unable to maintain altitude and he made a forced landing in a pasture. During the forced landing, the right main landing gear separated from the fuselage after colliding with an irrigation ditch, and the airplane subsequently nosed over. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed a fatigue fracture of the No. 3 cylinder exhaust rocker housing. The measured release torque for the fractured No. 3 exhaust rocker assembly was at the upper limit of that specified by the manufacturer; however, the actual release torque before the failure was likely higher than when measured postaccident. Additionally, a majority of the other rocker assemblies had release torque measurements that exceeded the manufacturer's specified installation limits. Although the overhaul procedures used to assemble the rocker assemblies differed from the manufacturer's overhaul instructions, the investigation was unable to determine if those deviations would have resulted in excessive stress within the rocker housing. However, the investigation did conclude that the fatigue fracture was likely due to an excessive torque loading on the rocker assembly in conjunction with normal rocker operation. A definitive source of the over-torque condition could not be determined. The engine had accumulated 171 hours since being overhauled about 4 months before the accident. A review of the maintenance records found no history of unresolved airworthiness issues with the engine since the last overhaul. Additionally, the airplane owner and the primary maintainer of the airplane stated that no maintenance had been performed on any of the rocker assemblies since the last engine overhaul. A failure of the exhaust rocker housing would result in the corresponding exhaust valve remaining seated during engine operation. Without the typical pathway for the combustion products to be expelled through the engine exhaust, the hot gases would ignite the fuel/air mixture within the engine intake manifold. The likely result of a rocker housing failure would be an immediate and significant loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.