Aero Commander CALLAIR A-9B N7684V

Summary

On 23 June 1997 at about 13:05 local time, a Aero Commander CALLAIR A-9B registered N7684V was involved in an accident near El Indio, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 June 1997 at 13:05

Classification

Accident

Location

El Indio, Texas, United States

Coordinates

28.5097, -100.3095

Aircraft

Aero Commander CALLAIR A-9B

Registration

N7684V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA232

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's inadequate preflight, subsequent fuel starvation, and failure of the pilot to reposition the fuel selector to another tank (perform emergency procedure) after the loss of engine power, which resulted in a forced landing and subseqent nose-over. Factors relating to the accident were: false fuel quantity indication, and the lack of suitable terrain for an emergency landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was working on a boll weevil eradication contract and was in the habit of servicing the airplane (with fuel, oil, and applicant) at the end of each day. He reported that the day before the accident, he was distracted from his servicing process by the arrival of a customer and the news of a family problem. The pilot reported that the next morning, while preflighting the airplane, 'I checked the sumps but did not remove the fuel caps to visually check the fuel [quantity].' He departed for the first flight of the day with the fuel selector positioned to a nonserviced tank; its fuel quantity gage indicated that it was 'full.' While flying the first application swath, the engine lost power. The pilot 'saw the fuel pressure light come on and he turned on the boost pump, but he delayed switching fuel tanks because he thought he had full tanks on both sides and there was some other problem.' The pilot performed a forced landing to a muddy cotton field, and the airplane came to rest inverted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.