Air Tractor AT-401 N4530L

Summary

On 26 August 2010 at about 15:35 local time, a Air Tractor AT-401 registered N4530L, operated by Rustys Flying Service, was involved in an accident near Castroville, 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

26 August 2010 at 15:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Castroville, Texas, United States

Coordinates

29.3396, -98.8707

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-401

Registration

N4530L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Rustys Flying Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

D'Hanis → D'Hanis

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10LA503

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to the failure of the torque sensor bearing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he was maneuvering the airplane to reverse direction when the engine experienced a loss of power. The pilot leveled the airplane and attempted to restart the engine without success. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted several trees and bushes and was substantially damaged. A postaccident engine examination revealed that the torque sensor bearing failed resulting in the shutdown of the fuel system.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.