Incident Overview
During the takeoff climb, the pilot detected an odor that he identified as burning electrical wiring. Shortly thereafter, the cockpit filled with smoke, and the engine lost all power almost immediately. The pilot executed a forced landing off the airport on mud flats. During the landing rollout, the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage.
Examination Findings
A post-incident examination revealed that the voltage regulator had shorted out. This short caused a brief, localized fire. The fire burned and shorted out the magneto 'P' leads, which in turn caused the engine to stop running. No other factors were identified in the source material.
Damage Assessment
The airplane sustained substantial damage due to the nose-over during the forced landing on the mud flats. Details of specific damaged components were not provided in the source.
Possible Cause
The probable cause, as stated in the investigation, is the shorting of the voltage regulator, which led to a fire that damaged the magneto 'P' leads, resulting in engine stoppage.