Grumman G164-B N48452

Summary

On 4 August 2015 at about 15:30 local time, a Grumman G164-B registered N48452, operated by Valley Air Service LTD, was involved in an accident near Princeton, California, 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

4 August 2015 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Princeton, California, United States

Coordinates

39.3836, -122.0336

Aircraft

Grumman G164-B

Registration

N48452

Category

Airplane

Year built

1976

Engines

1

Operator

Valley Air Service LTD

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Colusa → Colusa

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR15LA230

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power during an agricultural application flight due to a cylinder failure.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during the agricultural spray run, the engine lost power. The airplane was unable to maintain altitude, so the pilot made a forced landing to a rice field. After touchdown, the airplane nosed over, which resulted in substantial damage to the rudder. A postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the No. 2 cylinder head had cracked and lifted under the cooling fins on the cylinder's left side. The crack continued across the top and inside of the head to the intake valve seat, which would have allowed hot gases to enter the induction system and resulted in the subsequent loss of power. A review of the airplane's maintenance records revealed that a mandatory 100-hour repetitive visual inspection of the cylinder had been performed 66.7 flight hours before the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.