What happened
The incident occurred while the aircraft was en route to a designated spraying area. At the time of the event, the airplane was maintaining a cruise altitude of approximately 100 feet above ground level. During this phase of flight, the engine exhibited intermittent performance issues, described as "spitting" twice before suffering a complete cessation of power.
Following the total loss of engine power, the pilot initiated an emergency forced landing procedure. The aircraft was directed toward an open field for touchdown. Upon impact with the ground surface, which consisted of mud, the nose gear collapsed or dug in, causing the airplane to pitch forward violently. The aircraft ultimately came to rest in an inverted position on its back.
The investigation
A mechanical examination of the engine was conducted to determine the root cause of the power loss. Maintenance records indicated that the engine had accumulated 100 hours of operation time since it was last scheduled for overhaul. Despite this relatively low time-on-wing, the specific mechanical reason for the failure could not be identified through available evidence.
Findings
The investigation revealed several critical factors contributing to the outcome:
- The aircraft was operating at a very low altitude (100 feet) during cruise, which severely limited options for engine restart or safe glide path management.
- The terrain at the forced landing site consisted of soft mud, which contributed to the nose-over and subsequent inversion upon impact.
- The engine had reached its scheduled maintenance interval, having flown 100 hours since the last overhaul, though no specific mechanical defect was found to explain the failure.
The probable cause of the engine failure remains undetermined due to insufficient evidence to identify a specific component or system malfunction.