Air Tractor AT-400 N73127

Summary

On 19 April 1997 at about 19:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-400 registered N73127 was involved in an accident near Fluvanna, 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

19 April 1997 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fluvanna, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.8907, -101.1505

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-400

Registration

N73127

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lamesa → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA169

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to the failure of the reduction gear box. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing a swath run when he felt a vibration, and then the engine lost power. A forced landing was initiated to a plowed field. During the landing sequence, the left main landing gear separated from the fuselage, and the right wing spar was bent upward. A teardown inspection of the airplane's engine revealed that the reduction gear box failed and sheared the drive shaft. According to the FAA inspector, 'This failure allowed a turbine over speed to the point that the turbine blades separated from the wheel causing a contained catastrophic failure.'

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.