Incident Overview
During a daytime departure, the airplane suffered a complete loss of engine power. The power loss was traced to a rocker arm failure. The pilot executed a forced landing in a rice paddy. During the landing roll, the airplane collided with a dike and flipped onto its back.
Sequence of Events
The engine failure occurred at an altitude of approximately 40 feet above ground level. At the time, the airplane was taking off with a high gross weight. Recognizing the emergency, the pilot jettisoned most of the chemical payload before touching down.
Landing and Post-Impact
Despite the successful landing on the soft surface of the rice paddy, the aircraft struck a dike during the rollout. The impact caused the airplane to nose over into an inverted position.