Air Tractor AT 301 N3164K

Summary

On 29 August 2018 at about 18:23 local time, a Air Tractor AT 301 registered N3164K, operated by Ag Air Service Inc., was involved in an accident near Partridge, Kansas, 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

29 August 2018 at 18:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Partridge, Kansas, United States

Nearest airport

Hutchinson Regional (HUT)

Coordinates

37.9794, -98.1050

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT 301

Registration

N3164K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1984

Engines

1

Operator

Ag Air Service Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hutchinson → Hutchinson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18LA356

Nobody was injured.

The total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that he had been flying for about 1 hour and was returning to the airport when the engine lost total power while the airplane was about 1,000 ft above ground level (agl). Although the engine momentarily regained power twice, for about 3 seconds each time when he used the manual fuel pump, the airplane continued to lose altitude. He attempted to land on a road but was unable to properly align the airplane's flightpath with the road. The airplane stalled about 20 ft agl, contacted the road, and bounced before coming to rest in an adjacent field, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. A postaccident engine examination did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.