Fuel exhaustion Accident Air Tractor AT-602 N5035R,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 164331
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Wednesday 19 February 2014
Time:17:00
Type:Silhouette image of generic AT6T model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Air Tractor AT-602
Owner/operator:Richard Flying Service, Inc.
Registration: N5035R
MSN: 602-0426
Year of manufacture:1997
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Church Point, LA -   United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:Agricultural
Departure airport:Rayne, LA
Destination airport:Rayne, LA
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot reported that, during an agricultural application flight, the engine began to surge and lose power and that the propeller did not autofeather and appeared to be locked up. He made a forced landing to an open field, and the airplane subsequently collided with trees. The pilot said he thought the airplane had plenty of fuel because he usually flew the airplane for 2 hours as recorded on the Hobbs meter before it needed more fuel but that he had only flown for 0.8 hour since fueling the airplane. However, he later stated that the airplane was starved of fuel and that he should have known the engine fuel burn and the airplane fuel capacity and should have checked the fuel during preflight. No fuel was found in the fuel tanks, no fuel leaks were found, and no fuel was found on the ground. Upon application of electrical power, the fuel gauge read “0,” and the “low fuel” annunciator light illuminated. Disassembly and examination of the engine revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have caused the engine to lose power.

Probable Cause: The pilot’s improper preflight inspection and in-flight fuel planning, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: CEN14LA147
Status: Investigation completed
Duration:
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

History of this aircraft

Other occurrences involving this aircraft
4 June 2015 N5035R Richard Flying Service Inc 0 Near Mid South Flying Service Landing Strip, Branch, LA sub
Loss of control

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
28-Feb-2014 01:38 Geno Added
21-Dec-2016 19:28 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
29-Nov-2017 13:33 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org