Incident Overview
During flight, the pilot heard a noise from the engine described as 'very loud and persistent rattle with some attending vibration.' In response, the pilot initiated a precautionary landing.
Landing and Runway Excursion
The pilot stated that he was high and fast on approach and touched down over halfway down the 2000-foot-long runway, which had wet grass. He was unable to stop the airplane on the remaining runway and steered the airplane off the left side of the runway, where it went down an embankment and stopped.
Post-Accident Inspection
Following the accident, investigators found that the exhaust stack on the number one cylinder had broken at the mounting flange.