# Accident 20160805013309A: Aero Commander S2R, Sanborn, ND, August 5, 2016 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 5, 2016, 15:02 local time - Place: Sanborn, ND - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137) - Operator: 9T1G - Location: 46.8919° N, 98.1936° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.8919&lon=-98.1936&mi=10 - Aircraft: N5599X, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N5599X) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Aero Commander S2R (registry code 0143022, https://openairdocs.org/model/aero-commander-s2r) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney R1340 series (registry code 52016, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AERO COMMANDER S2R - Reported engine: P&W R1340 SERIES - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 1,300 total, 576 in this make and model, 300 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN16LA314](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA314) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160805013309A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. TRAVELLED TO RURAL SANBORN, ND, WITH FAA INSPECTOR KELLY BOSCH. MET WITH ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AT APPROX. 8:30AM AUGUST 9, 2016. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ PROVIDED HIS PILOT CERTIFICATE, CURRENT MEDICAL, AND A COPY OF HIS PART 137 OPERATING CERTIFICATE UPON OUR ARRIVAL. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ EXPLAINED THE CHAIN OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE ACCIDENT AS FOLLOWS: HE WAS TRAVELING BACK TO HIS RESIDENCE/LANDING STRIP AFTER COMPLETING HIS RUN TO REFILL AND PRIOR TO MAKING ANOTHER RUN. HE NOTED THAT THE FUEL INDICATORS WERE READING ¼ ON ONE SIDE AND 1/8 ON THE OTHER. APPROX. 1.5 MILES WEST OF THE POINT OF IMPACT THE ENGINE POPPED AND SPUTTERED AS WELL AS LOST POWER, HE WAS APPROX. 450 AGL. HE TURNED TOWARD THE EAST WHERE HE HAD NOTED A HAY FIELD WHILE THE ENGINE CONTINUED TO POP AND FAILED TO PRODUCE POWER. HE WAS RAPIDLY DESCENDING AND DECIDED TO ATTEMPT LANDING ON A SMALL DIRT FIELD ROAD INSTEAD OF THE HAY FIELD. AT HIS LOW APPROACH ANGLE HE WAS UNABLE TO SEE THAT THE ROAD CURVED SOUTH AROUND A SMALL WETLAND, THE AIRCRAFT CLIPPED STALKS AT THE EDGE OF A CORN FIELD AND IMPACTED THE EDGE OF THE SLOUGH WHERE IT SKIDDED THROUGH THE MUD AND SLOWLY FLIPPER OVER RESTING UPSIDE DOWN IN THE SHALLOW POND. INSPECTOR BOSCH AND I EXAMINED THE ENGINE, ENGINE MOUNT AND PROPELLER ALONG WITH ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AT HIS RESIDENCE. THE ENGINE WAS SITUATED MOUNT DOWN IN THE BACK OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ PICK UP WITH THE PROPELLER REMOVED. I REMOVED THE CARBURETOR FINGER SCREEN WHICH WAS DRY AND INDICATED NO PRESENCE OF FUEL. I ALSO REMOVED THE LOWER FITTING ON THE FUEL LINE THAT CONNECTS THE ENGINE DRIVEN FUEL PUMP TO THE CARBURETOR WHERE JUST ENOUGH FUEL TO WET THE THREADS WAS NOTED. THE FUEL SCREEN AND HOSE WERE REINSTALLED AND ALL OBSERVATIONS WERE MADE IN THE PRESENCE OF ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ AND ASSEMBLY/DISASSEMBLY WAS ACCOMPLISHED USING TOOLS PROVIDED BY HIM. THE PROPELLER SHOWED NO VISIBLE EVIDENCE OF ENGINE POWERED ROTATION AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. TWO SMALL NICKS WERE OBSERVED IN THE LEADING EDGE OF ONE PROP BLADE, NONE OF THE BLADES APPEARED TO HAVE SUSTAINED ANY OTHER DAMAGE OR BE BENT. NO SIGNS OF PLANT MATTER FROM ROTATION THRU THE CORN STALKS COULD BE NOTED. INSPECTOR BOSCH, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, AND I THEN TRAVELLED TO THE ACCIDENT SITE APPROX. EIGHT MILES SOUTHEAST OF HIS RESIDENCE. 46*53?31N 98*11?37W. THE POINT OF IMPACT WAS CONCURRENT WITH ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ RECOLLECTION OF THE EVENTS AS WELL AS THE EVIDENCE OBSERVED BY INSPECTOR BOSCH AND MYSELF. AT THE TIME OF OUR INVESTIGATION THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE SLOUGH WITH AN EXCAVATOR AND WAS STILL UPSIDE DOWN AND STABILIZED BY CRIBBING TO FACILITATE DISASSEMBLY AND REMOVAL FROM THE SITE. THE LINE FROM THE HEADER TANK TO THE HAND FUEL PUMP WAS DISCONNECTED AND NO PRESENCE OF FUEL COULD BE DETECTED. REMOVAL OF THE FUEL FILLER CAPS ON BOTH WINGS REVEALED NO FUEL. INSPECTOR BOSCH AND MYSELF CONCLUDED THE ENGINE FAILED TO MAINTAIN POWER DUE TO LACK OF FUEL. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB CEN16LA314](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA314), Aug 5, 2016: Aero Commander S2R (N5599X), Valley City, ND, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate preflight inspection and fuel planning, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.