20130803013439I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Schweizer G-164B · Modoc, IN · August 3, 2013

Date
August 3, 2013 · 19:25 local
Place
Modoc, IN
Phase of flight
Other, Specify
Operating rules
Agricultural (Part 137)
Operator
TM6G
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N842WA
Reported as
Schweizer G-164B
Reported engine
Garrett TPE331-2
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificates
Commercial pilot, private pilot

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Pilot had just completed aerial spraying and was returning to connersville airport when he observed the engine torque gauge indication dropping rapidly (loss of power). He turned the aircraft to the north to attempt an emergency landing on Indiana state route 1. He observed a set of power lines across the roadway and landed hard to avoid them (passing underneath). The hard landing caused the aircraft's right landing gear tire to blow and the propeller tips struck the road surface (the engine was still running and the propeller was turning when the blades contacted the pavement). The aircraft continued approximately 350 feet on the road surface (in a north-northeasterly direction) until leaving the road surface into a roadside drainage ditch. The aircraft came to rest nose down (prop spinner damaged) in the soft soil, facing northeast after the upper and lower left wingtips and the lower right wingtip contacted the soil.

As the FAA filed it

PILOT HAD JUST COMPLETED AERIAL SPRAYING AND WAS RETURNING TO CONNERSVILLE AIRPORT WHEN HE OBSERVED THE ENGINE TORQUE GAUGE INDICATION DROPPING RAPIDLY (LOSS OF POWER). HE TURNED THE AIRCRAFT TO THE NORTH TO ATTEMPT AN EMERGENCY LANDING ON INDIANA STATE ROUTE 1. HE OBSERVED A SET OF POWER LINES ACROSS THE ROADWAY AND LANDED HARD TO AVOID THEM (PASSING UNDERNEATH). THE HARD LANDING CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT'S RIGHT LANDING GEAR TIRE TO BLOW AND THE PROPELLER TIPS STRUCK THE ROAD SURFACE (THE ENGINE WAS STILL RUNNING AND THE PROPELLER WAS TURNING WHEN THE BLADES CONTACTED THE PAVEMENT). THE AIRCRAFT CONTINUED APPROXIMATELY 350 FEET ON THE ROAD SURFACE (IN A NORTH-NORTHEASTERLY DIRECTION) UNTIL LEAVING THE ROAD SURFACE INTO A ROADSIDE DRAINAGE DITCH. THE AIRCRAFT CAME TO REST NOSE DOWN (PROP SPINNER DAMAGED) IN THE SOFT SOIL, FACING NORTHEAST AFTER THE UPPER AND LOWER LEFT WINGTIPS AND THE LOWER RIGHT WINGTIP CONTACTED THE SOIL.