Air Tractor AT-301 N73071

Summary

On 13 August 2011 at about 18:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-301 registered N73071, operated by Semper FI Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near Edgeley, North Dakota, 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

13 August 2011 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Edgeley, North Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Edgeley Municipal (51D)

Coordinates

46.3486, -98.7347

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-301

Registration

N73071

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Semper FI Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Edgeley → Edgeley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11LA598

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that shortly after leveling off and making a power reduction for cruise flight, he noticed that a descent had developed. The pilot added one notch of flaps and dumped the chemical load using the emergency dump handle but the descent continued. He landed the airplane in a bean field. A postaccident examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any anomalies, nor were any anomalies noted in the airplane’s recent annual inspection. The temperature and dew point recorded at a nearby airport were in a range susceptible to the formation of carburetor ice at glide and cruise power settings. Carburetor icing usually results in engine roughness and a drop in manifold pressure. Since the pilot made no mention of engine roughness, a decrease in manifold pressure, and was able to increase manifold pressure during his attempts to arrest the descent, it is unlikely that the power loss was due to carburetor icing. The reason for the power loss could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.