Air Tractor AT-802A N8504T

Summary

On 1 May 2006 at about 13:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-802A registered N8504T, operated by Jimmy Thrash, was involved in an accident near Jasper, Texas, 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

1 May 2006 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Jasper, Texas, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-802A

Registration

N8504T

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Jimmy Thrash

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Jasper → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06LA121

1 person had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable landing for the pilot to execute the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The turbine powered agricultural airplane was loaded with a payload of 5,500 pounds of chemicals prior to a local aerial application flight. The 8,500-hour non-instrument rated commercial pilot reported to local authorities that while in-flight he experienced some problems with the on-board agricultural-navigation system; however, he elected to proceed to the field to be sprayed. While en route to the field, the engine surged a couple of times and lost power. The pilot attempted to execute a forced landing to a pasture. During the approach, the pilot was forced to make a sharp turn to avoid colliding with a fence, resulting in a hard landing and a subsequent loss of directional control. The payload of chemicals was found in the hopper, and the reason why the pilot did not elect to dump the load following the loss of engine power was not determined. The 2005 model airplane sustained major structural damage in the area aft of the engine firewall. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, who traveled to the accident site, revealed less than a cup of fuel in one tank and less than 5 gallons in the other. A completed Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1) was never received from neither the pilot nor the operator.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.