Accident Sequence
About 30 minutes after takeoff, while cruising at 6,500 feet, the engine began to lose RPM and subsequently stopped. The pilot was able to restart the engine, but then oil started coming from under the cowling. The pilot shut the engine down and performed a forced landing on a road. Because the windshield was covered with oil, the pilot's forward visibility was impaired during the forced landing. During the landing roll, the aircraft's left wing struck a road sign that the pilot could not see, causing the aircraft to leave the road. The aircraft came to rest in a ditch beside the road.
Post-Accident Examination
A post-accident examination of the aircraft's engine revealed damage to the number 1 piston, with the wrist pin brass plug missing. A hole in the top of the engine crankcase was also observed at that location. The examination report stated that the hole was "probably caused by [the] brass plug being pushed out by [the] crank shaft lobe." The engine, a Lycoming O-320-E2A, had 1,649 hours since overhaul at the time of the accident and had received an annual signoff 8 months and 27 flight hours before the accident.