- Date
- August 29, 1997, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Clewiston, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7307CAir Tractor AT-301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 7, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970829026839A
- Case key
- 3895
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 crack in the #8 cylinder head which led to the loss of power. A factor was the soft terrain.
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
While on an aerial application flight, the pilot reported that the engine started shaking. The airplane was soon unable to maintain altitude, so the pilot attempted a forced landing in a soft field. After touching down, the airplane sank into the soft field, and it nosed over. According to the FAA inspector, the engine had a crack in the #8 cylinder head which led to the loss of power.
Factual narrative
On August 29, 1997, about 1330 eastern daylight time, a Air Tractor AT-301, N7307C, lost engine power and executed a forced landing into a field near Clewiston, Florida. The airplane was operated by Story Aviation, Inc. under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 137, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for this aerial application flight. The commercial pilot was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The local flight originated from a private strip in Clewiston, Florida about 1330.
According to the pilot, he was spraying a field with fertilizer when the aircraft's engine started shaking. He stated it quickly became worse until he did not have enough power to maintain altitude. He dumped his load of fertilizer and attempted to land in an open field. After touchdown, the airplane's wheels sank into the soft field, and the airplane nosed over.
According to a FAA inspector, the #8 cylinder head had cracked through the spark plug hole. This led to a loss of engine power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7307C
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0616
- Airframe hours
- 5,473
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN-1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Story Aviation, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 22, 1997 · 72 hours before
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
- 55
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 9,215 total · 2,110 in this make and model · 8,980 as pilot in command · 242 in the last 90 days · 70 in the last 30 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PBI, 60 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.