The pilot of an experimental Cessna 182 JT-A with an SMA diesel engine reported that his “engine blew” during a test flight last week, and he landed safely in a field near Wichita, Kan., according to local news reports. “The flight was a part of the normal certification process, which up to date has been running the normal course,” Cessna spokesman Andy Woodward told the Wichita Eagle. The pilot was not hurt and the airplane “appears to have not suffered any significant damage,” Woodward said, adding that the aircraft inspection was ongoing. At EAA AirVenture last month, the company said the 182 JT-A is scheduled to start deliveries later this year. The SMA engine, made by Safran, is expected to use up to 40 percent less fuel than a comparable avgas engine.
Woodward told AVweb on Monday morning the company had “nothing to add” to any of its previous statements. The jet-fueled JT-A Turbo Skylane first flew in May, and in July the company reported it had logged almost 200 hours, including a trans-Atlantic flight from Nova Scotia to the Channel Islands, off the coast of England.
