Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Latah, Washington 99033
Saturday, August 4, 2001 11:45 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During an aerial application flight, the number six cylinder exhaust valve rocker boss cracked, and the engine would not produce enough power to keep the aircraft airborne. The pilot therefore made an emergency landing in a nearby lentil field. Although the touchdown was uneventful, during the landing roll, the aircraft went over a slight rise and became temporarily airborne. When it touched down again its propeller dug into the soft terrain, and the aircraft was thrown sideways, collapsing the main gear and bending the left wing.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the failure of a cylinder head exhaust rocker shaft boss while the aircraft was performing aerial application. Factors include soft terrain and a drop-off in the field where the emergency landing took place.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/4/2001
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1145
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City Latah
Event State WASHINGTON
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 99033
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 25
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10777
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 4 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1230
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Oct 17 2001 9:02AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Spokane FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4237X
NTSB Number SEA01LA146
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Rockwell
Aircraft Model S-2R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2008R
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 26 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 290
Airframe Hours 6076
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Gregory R. Faunce
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 602
Aircraft Owner City Tekoa
Aircraft Owner State --
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 99033
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Tekoa
Departure State WA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1105
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Sep 28 2001 12:54PM
User who most recently changed record RANS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --