- Date
- March 15, 2007, 16:06 local (21:06 UTC)
- Place
- Collinwood, TN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N90319Air Tractor AT-502B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 27, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Nashville FSDO-03
- Case key
- 65484
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilots improper inflight planning which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot stated that he departed to apply fertilizer to a timber field 11 miles southwest of the departure point. He noticed that his fuel was low and turned on the fuel boost pump. He continued to finish his fertilizer load. The pilot stated that during the return to the landing zone, "the airplane ran out fuel and the engine stopped". He then made a forced landing in a field and the airplane collided with a row of trees next to a creek. The pilot turned off all electrical switches and exited the airplane. The pilot was uninjured, and did not report any mechanical or flight control anomalies prior to the accident. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that both fuel tanks were empty. The wings and fuselage were also buckled.
Factual narrative
The pilot stated that he departed a hay field north of Collinwood, Tennessee, to apply fertilizer to a timber field 11 miles southwest of the departure point. He noticed that his fuel was low and turned on the fuel boost pump. He continued to finish his fertilizer load. The pilot stated that during the return to the landing zone, "the airplane ran out fuel and the engine stopped". He then made a forced landing in a field and the airplane collided with a row of trees next to a creek. The pilot turned off all electrical switches and exited the airplane. The pilot was uninjured, and did not report any mechanical or flight control anomalies prior to the accident. Examination of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed that both fuel tanks were empty. The wings and fuselage were also buckled.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N90319
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 502B-0578
- Airframe hours
- 2,280
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney PT6A, 500 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Otto M. Morrison
- Registered owner
- Morrison Aircraft Corporation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 1, 2007 · 100 hours before
- Departed
- Private strip, TN
- Destination
- Private strip, TN
- Airport
- NONE · Private strip
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2005
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 19,000 total · 7,000 in this make and model · 19,000 as pilot in command · 170 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 9 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.88 inHg
- Observed at
- KMSL, 11 nm away