Air Tractor AT-301 N2362D

Summary

On 16 September 1995 at about 15:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-301 registered N2362D, operated by Gosa's Aerial AG, was involved in an accident near Plains, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

16 September 1995 at 15:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Plains, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

32.0309, -84.3907

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-301

Registration

N2362D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Gosa's Aerial AG

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL95LA169

1 person had minor injuries.

Failure of the number four cylinder rocker arm housing and pin, which resulted in a closed exhaust valve and loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the first spray run of an aerial application flight, the engine lost power. Subsequently, the aircraft nosed over during a forced landing and was damaged. An examination of the engine revealed that the number four cylinder rocker arm housing had fractured. The fracture surface had a rough, granular, and irregular appearance, typical of overload failure. There was evidence that when the rocker arm housing became separated from the cylinder, the rocker arm pin failed, allowing the rocker arm to separate from the cylinder and resulting in a loss of continuity to the exhaust valve. The exhaust valve then remained closed, and the engine lost power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.