- Date
- August 25, 2008, 11:45 local (16:45 UTC)
- Place
- Jasper, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N3654TAir Tractor AT-301A
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20080825846179A
- Case key
- 68877
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 pilot's failure to assure the primer control was locked during the aircraft preflight. Factors associated with the accident were the low altitude at which the airplane was operating, the fence, the roadway, and the ditch.
Findings · 4
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 reported he was spraying a field at an altitude of 5 to 10 feet above the ground, when the engine ran rough, stopped, started, then stopped again. He reported he tried to land in an open pasture, but the airplane lost too much altitude while making a left turn. The pilot leveled the wings and the airplane contacted the terrain. The airplane traveled through a fence and a ditch prior to crossing a road and coming to rest in another ditch. Post accident inspection of the airplane revealed the fuel primer control knob was not locked and it had backed out.
Factual narrative
On August 25, 2008, at 1145 central daylight time, an Air tractor AT-301A, N3654T, operated by R & R Spraying, Inc., collided with terrain and a fence during a forced landing in Jasper, Minnesota. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane received substantial damage to both wings and the empennage. The aerial application flight was operating under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated from a private airstrip near Jasper, Minnesota, shortly before the accident. The pilot reported he was spraying a field at an altitude of 5 to 10 feet above the ground, when the engine ran rough, stopped, started, then stopped again. He reported he tried to land in an open pasture, but the airplane lost too much altitude while making a left turn. The pilot leveled the wings and the airplane contacted the terrain. The airplane traveled through a fence and a ditch prior to crossing a road and coming to rest in another ditch. Post accident inspection of the airplane revealed the fuel primer control knob was not locked and it had backed out.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3654T
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0290
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney 1340-AN-1, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial observation · Part 137
- Registered owner
- R & R Spraying, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- PVT · Garretson, SD
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
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Flight hours
- 2,546 total · 550 in this make and model · 2,500 as pilot in command · 200 in the last 90 days · 100 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- FSD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.