Accident Cessna A188B N53109, Tuesday 3 September 1996

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Date:	Tuesday 3 September 1996
Time:	13:30 LT
Type:	Cessna A188B
Owner/operator:	Winona Flying Service
Registration:	N53109
MSN:	18801628T
Year of manufacture:	1974
Total airframe hrs:	5372 hours
Engine model:	Continental IO-520-D
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Winona, MS - United States of America
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:
Destination airport:
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The airplane owner/pilot stated that after completion of an aerial application flight, while returning to reload, he noticed smoke in the cockpit, then the engine lost power. The pilot initiated a forced landing in a cotton field. During the landing roll, the left main landing gear wheel separated after contact with a depression. Examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed oil on the fuselage and in the engine compartment area. The oil had come from a hole in a flexible hose that was connected to the outlet of the oil cooler. The hole was adjacent to a heat shield. The owner/pilot, who was not an A & P mechanic, had performed repairs to a baffle in the engine compartment area about 2 to 3 weeks before the accident. After the repair, there was insufficient clearance between the flexible oil hose and the heat shield.

Probable Cause: improper maintenance of the airplane by the unqualified pilot/owner, by providing inadequate clearance between a flexible oil hose and a heat shield, which resulted in chafing of the hose, an oil leak, and subsequent oil starvation. A factor relating to the accident was: rough terrain in the emergency landing area.

Accident investigation: