20221213018639I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Thrush S2R-510 · Belle Glade, FL · December 13, 2022

Date
December 13, 2022 · 14:10 local
Place
Belle Glade, FL
Airport
Belle Glade Municipal Airport
Phase of flight
Cruise/Level Flight
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N8004U
Reported as
Thrush S2R-510
Reported engine
Pratt &Whitney PT6A
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Commercial pilot
Pilot’s flight hours
6,107 total

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 states she filed a VFR flight plan to ferry aircraftprivacy data omittedfrom kaby to kfxe. She states the aircraft had 378 gallons of fuel at start of flight (150 gallons in the hopper, 228 in the wings). She states her altitude was 7500 AGL during flight at 17:02 zulu time. She states 40 minutes into the flight she switched valve to the hopper and switched the valve back to wings once. At 18:50 zulu time she descended to 3500 AGL to maintain VFR and avoid moa. She said the clouds were getting lower so she descended between 2500 and 2000 AGL. She said she used the hopper again for 15 minutes and noticed a drop in ng parameters as the aircraft decreased in speed and altitude. She states she declared an emergency and landed in a sugar cane field because she could not safely turn 180 degrees to land on the runway at Belle Glade state municipal airport and she was too low to attempt an engine relight. Engine teardown pending

As the FAA filed it

PILOT STATES SHE FILED A VFR FLIGHT PLAN TO FERRY AIRCRAFT^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^FROM KABY TO KFXE. SHE STATES THE AIRCRAFT HAD 378 GALLONS OF FUEL AT START OF FLIGHT (150 GALLONS IN THE HOPPER, 228 IN THE WINGS). SHE STATES HER ALTITUDE WAS 7500 AGL DURING FLIGHT AT 17:02 ZULU TIME. SHE STATES 40 MINUTES INTO THE FLIGHT SHE SWITCHED VALVE TO THE HOPPER AND SWITCHED THE VALVE BACK TO WINGS ONCE. AT 18:50 ZULU TIME SHE DESCENDED TO 3500 AGL TO MAINTAIN VFR AND AVOID MOA. SHE SAID THE CLOUDS WERE GETTING LOWER SO SHE DESCENDED BETWEEN 2500 AND 2000 AGL. SHE SAID SHE USED THE HOPPER AGAIN FOR 15 MINUTES AND NOTICED A DROP IN NG PARAMETERS AS THE AIRCRAFT DECREASED IN SPEED AND ALTITUDE. SHE STATES SHE DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND LANDED IN A SUGAR CANE FIELD BECAUSE SHE COULD NOT SAFELY TURN 180 DEGREES TO LAND ON THE RUNWAY AT BELLE GLADE STATE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT AND SHE WAS TOO LOW TO ATTEMPT AN ENGINE RELIGHT. ENGINE TEARDOWN PENDING