Incident Overview
A student pilot was attempting to land when he determined he was too high and decided to abort the landing. During the go-around, the engine failed to develop power despite adjustments to the throttle and mixture controls. The pilot executed a forced landing, touching down in a cornfield.
Post-Accident Examination
An examination of the engine disclosed that there was no clearance between the rocker arm and the intake valve stem on cylinder #3. Similarly, no clearance existed between the rocker arms and the exhaust valve stems on cylinders #5 and #6. A compression check revealed no compression on cylinders #5 and #6, and very little compression on cylinder #3.
Maintenance History
All of the cylinders had been reconditioned 22 hours prior to the accident. The lack of valve clearance and associated compression loss were identified as the mechanical conditions present at the time of the forced landing.