- Date
- May 5, 2014, 09:00 local (14:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hessmer, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7309ZAir Tractor AT 301
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Loss of engine power (partial)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 14, 2015
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Case key
- 89165
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
A partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because a full examination of the engine could not be performed.
Findings · 1
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot stated that the radial engine lost power as he approached a rice field that he was going to spray; he made a forced landing on a levee. The main landing gear hit a soft spot during the landing and the airplane veered off the road into a field, where it flipped inverted. Although the pilot suspected the blower had failed, the blower was not accessible for examination and no discrepancies were noted in the airplane's maintenance logbooks. The insurance company totaled the airplane and no further examination of the engine could be performed; accordingly, the reason for the loss of power could not be determined.
Factual narrative
On May 5, 2014, about 0900 central daylight time, N7309Z, an Air Tractor 301, was substantially damaged when it made a forced landing to a rice levee in Hessmer, Louisiana, after a loss of engine power. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Pro-Air, LLC, Hamburg, Louisiana. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed an no flight plan was filed for the local, aerial spraying flight conducted under 14 Federal Aviation Regulations Part 137. The airplane departed about 0853 from a private airstrip located in Hessmer, Louisiana. The pilot stated that the radial engine lost power (he suspected the blower had failed) as he approached a rice field that he was going to spray and he made a forced landing on a levee. The main landing gear hit a soft spot during the landing and the airplane veered off the road into the field and flipped inverted resulting in substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and left wing. According to a representative of the airplane recovery company, the three-bladed propeller sustained damage to two of the blades. The engine mounts and firewall were not damaged and there was no obvious damage to the engine. The blower was no accessible to examine. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintenance inspector reviewed the airplane's maintenance logbooks and found no discrepancies. The insurance company totaled the airplane and no further examination of the engine was performed and the loss of power was undetermined.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7309Z
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT 301 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0645
- Built
- 1986
- Airframe hours
- 7,760
- Engine
- P&W R1340 SERIES, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Pro-Air LLC
- Registered owner
- Pro-Air LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 2013
- Departed
- Hessmer, LA
- Destination
- Hessmer, LA
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
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 709 total · 475 in this make and model · 120 in the last 90 days · 68 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 12, 2014, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 597 KB in all.