Event Details
The crew was completing a single-engine positioning flight from El Paso, Texas, to Lubbock, Texas. While en route, the operating engine failed, prompting an emergency landing. The aircraft executed a belly landing in a desert area near Seminole, Texas. Both occupants exited with minor injuries, and the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.
Investigation Findings
Official investigation findings attributed the in-flight engine malfunction and subsequent wheels-up landing to a cylinder assembly failure. Contributing factors included material failure, intentional wheels-up landing, fire in the engine, failure of the fire warning system related to the powerplant, complete engine failure, forced landing off airport on land, and the nature of the flight as a single-engine ferry operation to transport the aircraft for repair of the other engine.