NTSB Identification: CEN12LA491
14 CFR Part 137: Agricultural
Accident occurred Thursday, July 19, 2012 in Fergus Falls, MN
Aircraft: GRUMMAN G-164A, registration: N4638
Injuries: 1 Serious.

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On July 17, 2012, approximately 1345 central daylight time, N4638, a Grumman G-164A airplane was substantially damaged when it made a forced landing to a field after a loss of engine power near Fergus Falls, Minnesota. The commercial pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by West Central AG-AIR Incorporated, of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the agricultural aircraft operation flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137.

The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that he was on his fifth pass over a large corn field when he saw a puff of white smoke from the engine. The pilot shut off the chemical sprayer so he could assess the engine and turned toward a road. About half way through this turn, the pilot observed more puffs of smoke and the engine's manifold pressure began to drop. The pilot said he was losing airspeed, so he jettisoned the chemical load and made forced landing in the corn field. The airplane flipped over after landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the upper left wing, rudder and vertical stabilizer.

An FAA Airworthiness inspector performed an examination of the radial engine, which revealed the #2 cylinder head was cracked.

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