- Date
- July 26, 2001, 08:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wallace, NE
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N80083Ag-Cat G-164B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 3, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA-Lincoln, Nebraska FSDO
- FAA report
- 20010726038329A
- Case key
- 52887
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 inadequate preflight planning by the pilot, the pilot initiating the flight with an inadequate fuel supply, and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing. Factors were the fuel exhaustion, the low altitude and the soft field.
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 airplane was damaged during a forced landing following a complete loss of engine power during an aerial application flight. The pilot said that he had just initiated a pull-up to about 100 feet to return to the airport when there was a total power failure. He said that he checked the magnetos with no change and then executed a forced landing in a, "...soft summer fallow field." A postaccident examination and subsequent engine operational check revealed no anomalies. The pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector that he was unsure of the fuel quantity at the time of the accident. In his written report, the pilot reported having 71.7 gallons of fuel on board at the last takeoff.
Factual narrative
On July 26, 2001, about 0830 central daylight time, an Ag-Cat Corporation G-164B, N80083, piloted by a commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the ground and nosed over during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Wallace, Nebraska. The 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight was not on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported no injuries. The local flight originated from a private airstrip near Wallace, Nebraska at 0820.
A postaccident examination of the airplane was conducted. The wings had been removed for transport from the accident site. The transport crew reported to the Federal Aviation Administration inspector that there was a small quantity of fuel in the wing fuel tanks at the time of the wing removal. The aircraft engine was visually examined and no anomalies were found. Subsequent to the visual examination of the engine, a temporary fuel system was fabricated to facilitate an engine operational check. The engine operated at low and mid-range power settings with no operational problems found.
The pilot reported to a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector that he was unsure of the fuel quantity at the time of the accident. In his written report, the pilot reported having 71.7 gallons of fuel on board at the last takeoff. The pilot said that he had just initiated a pull-up to about 100 feet to return to the airport when there was a total power failure. He said that he checked the magnetos with no change and then executed a forced landing in a, "...soft summer fallow field."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N80083
- Reported as
- Ag-Cat G-164B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 837B
- Airframe hours
- 238.5
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Wallace Flying Service Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 24, 2000 · 18 hours before
- Departed
- PVT · Wallace, NE
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
- 56
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- March 2, 2000
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 12,707 total · 8,847 in this make and model · 12,504 as pilot in command · 64 in the last 90 days · 37 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 8 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 1,100 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- LBF, 28 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.
Other investigations on N80083 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.