Air Tractor 301 N2368R
23 July 1999 · Drew, Mississippi, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 23 July 1999 at about 20:00 local time, a Air Tractor 301 registered N2368R was involved in an accident near Drew, Mississippi, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 20:00
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Drew, Mississippi, United States
- Nearest airport
- Ruleville (M37)
- Coordinates
- 33.8010, -90.5310
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor 301
- Registration
- N2368R
- 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
- MIA99LA203
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
a loss of engine power due to the failure of cylinder No. 4 boss, which was caused by fatigue cracking, resulting in a forced landing in marshy terrain and subsequent nose over.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The flight was departing from a 3,000 foot runway with a full load of fertilizer. The airplane became airborne, and according to the pilot, the engine lost power. The pilot was not able to maintain altitude, and the airplane impacted the ground about 2,500 feet from the departure end of the runway. The on scene investigation revealed that the No. 4 cylinder exhaust rocker box cover was fractured and missing, and appeared to not have been caused by impact with the ground. The No. 4 cylinder was removed from the engine and sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C., for examination. The laboratory examination revealed that the No. 4 cylinder head had failed from fatigue cracking, probably the result of both mechanical and thermal stresses. It was likely that the fatigue originated first at the corners of the exhaust rocker shaft hole in boss '1', then initiated at localized casting defects in boss '2' as the fatigue in boss '1' grew and the local stresses increased in the remaining structure.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Air Tractor 301 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Mar 1999 | Air Tractor 301 | Finley, Tennessee, United States | George S Hollingsworth | No injuries | - |
| 26 Feb 1998 | Air Tractor 301-300 | Woodland, California, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 5 Sep 1996 | Air Tractor 301 | St Clair, Alabama, United States | Farm Air, Inc. | Serious injuries | - |
| 26 Jul 2002 | Air Tractor 301 | Ulen, Minnesota, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 18 Jun 1996 | Air Tractor 301A | Hunter, Arkansas, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Sep 1995 | Air Tractor 301 | Dyer, Tennessee, United States | - | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep 1999 | Gulfstream American AA-5A | Carthage, Mississippi, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 13 Sep 1999 | Air Tractor AT-401 | Caledonia, Mississippi, United States | Floyd C. Lowry | No injuries | - |
| 13 Jan 1999 | Trohoski VARI-EZE | Tupelo, Mississippi, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 13 Jul 1999 | Cessna A188B | Panther Burn, Mississippi, United States | Michael A. Johnson | Serious injuries | - |
| 28 Oct 1999 | Cessna 172G | Itta Bena, Mississippi, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 8 May 1999 | Piper PA-24-180 | Vicksburg, Mississippi, United States | - | Fatal | 4 |