Air Tractor AT-602 N628JP

Summary

On 23 July 2007 at about 23:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-602 registered N628JP was involved in an accident near Prophetstown, Illinois, 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 July 2007 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Prophetstown, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

41.6667, -90.0833

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-602

Registration

N628JP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newport → Flinton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07CA227

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to accurately monitor fuel consumption during flight, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation/exhaustion. A contributing factor was the cornfield encountered during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The pilot stated that about 6 miles from the intended destination, the engine started to lose power and he was no longer able to maintain altitude. He setup for a forced landing on a road. He reported that during the approach he maneuvered to avoid a ditch adjacent to the road. The "controls got sloppy and the airplane subsequently stalled about 15 [feet] from the road." The right wing "dipped" and impacted a cornfield, causing the airplane to nose over. The pilot's statement noted he had departed with full fuel (216 gallons) and the flight's duration was approximately 2-1/2 hours. He expected to burn 68 - 70 gallons per hour (gph) at 162 knots. He stated that at the time of the loss of engine power, the fuel gauges indicated that one-quarter remained in the left fuel tank and one-eighth remained in the right fuel tank. He reported that after the engine initially lost power it would regain partial power for short periods of time. He added that he did not suspect an engine problem and believed the loss of engine power was due to fuel starvation. The airplane manufacturer stated that total fuel capacity for the accident airplane make and model was 216 gallons, and that the maximum useable fuel was 210 gallons. At normal cruise, the expected fuel consumption would be approximately 70 to 75 gph, at 155 knots. At high cruise, fuel consumption would be expected to be approximately 83 - 84 gph.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.