N8488V

On July 18, 1998, about 1050 central daylight time, a Rockwell S-2R, N8488V, owned by a private individual, operating as a Title 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight, impacted with the ground during a forced landing near Belzoni, Mississippi. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was substantially damaged. The commercial-rated pilot was not injured. The flight had originated from a private airstrip, at 1015.

The pilot had completed spraying a field, and was returning to the airstrip to pick up more chemicals. The flight was at an altitude of 400 feet when the pilot reported that the airplane's engine lost complete power. The pilot elected to make a forced landing in a rice field. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear wheel got caught in mud, causing the airplane to pull left, the right wing to strike the ground, and the airplane to come to rest on it's nose. Examination of the engine revealed something had broken in the blower, causing oil to leak.

Further examination of the engine, by the FAA, revealed that most of the engine oil had "been pumped overboard" from the area of the blower impeller, due to a "malfunction" of the blower, and caused the "engine to seize."