PA-18 pilot reported landing in a field following a severe engine problem while towing a banner.

Attributes
ACN	1370704
Time
Date	201607
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	PA-18/19 Super Cub
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Component
Aircraft Component	Engine Exhaust System
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot
Qualification	Flight Crew Commercial Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 78 Flight Crew Total 4719 Flight Crew Type 21
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical

Narrative:

I was piloting a piper PA-18-150 towing a banner when I experienced a sudden and severe loss of power; extreme heat; and noise when part of the rear exhaust on the rt rear cylinder failed in flight. I attempted to make a direct flight to the nearest airport to make a precautionary landing. About 3-4 minutes after the loss I power I began to feel extreme heat in the cockpit; emanating from the lower right firewall and boot cowl area; and decided not to push the aircraft any further and landed safely in a farmer's field. I made a high pass over the field to safely drop the banner; verify wind direction; and landed without further incident or damage to the aircraft; property; or persons on the ground.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PA-18 pilot reported landing in a field following a severe engine problem while towing a banner.

Narrative: I was piloting a Piper PA-18-150 towing a banner when I experienced a sudden and severe loss of power; extreme heat; and noise when part of the rear exhaust on the rt rear cylinder failed in flight. I attempted to make a direct flight to the nearest airport to make a precautionary landing. About 3-4 minutes after the loss I power I began to feel extreme heat in the cockpit; emanating from the lower right firewall and boot cowl area; and decided not to push the aircraft any further and landed safely in a farmer's field. I made a high pass over the field to safely drop the banner; verify wind direction; and landed without further incident or damage to the aircraft; property; or persons on the ground.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.