Air Tractor AT-502 N9195G

Summary

On 9 August 2007 at about 17:25 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502 registered N9195G was involved in an accident near Creston, Iowa, 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

9 August 2007 at 17:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Creston, Iowa, United States

Coordinates

41.0219, -94.3625

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502

Registration

N9195G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Creston → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07CA259

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's inadequate fuel calculations.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The engine stopped suddenly when the flight was returning from an aerial application flight. The commercial pilot reported that he had finished spraying a field of soybeans and was ferrying the aircraft back to the airport when the "engine totally quit without any forewarning." He reported that he attempted a forced landing to a nearby highway, but the airplane lost too much altitude before reaching the highway and he executed a forced landing to a soybean field. An on scene inspection found that there was no fuel in the left fuel tank. The header fuel tank located between the left and right fuel tanks was found dry. The header tank's quick fuel drain was found crushed, but held open. About 10 gallons of fuel were found in the right fuel tank. No fuel blight was observed on the bean plants at the accident site. The airplane's owner reported that the airplane was fueled prior to the accident flight, and that the left wing was full of fuel. He reported that the airplane should have had enough fuel for another 20 minutes of flight. He reported that the pilot sprayed the field using a "squeeze pattern." By using the squeeze pattern, the pilot sprayed the outside of the field first and worked his way to the center. By doing so, the airplane was constantly turning in the same direction. The owner reported that you can "sling all the fuel from one side to the other side," and that it's possible to get air in the system.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.