ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 164331
Last updated: 22 October 2020
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| Date: | 19-FEB-2014 |
| Time: | 17:00 |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-602 |
| Owner/operator: | Richard Flying Service, Inc. |
| Registration: | N5035R |
| C/n / msn: | 602-0426 |
| 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 (NONE) |
| Rayne, LA (NONE) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
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.
Sources:
NTSB: https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20140222X85713&key=1
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 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] |
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