- Date
- October 19, 1998, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Aztec, NM
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N73080Air Tractor AT-400
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 19, 1999
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981019029799A
- Case key
- 45133
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 inadequate preflight inspection of the airplane. Factors were the unsecured oil dipstick, the loss of engine oil pressure necessitating a precautionary landing on unsuitable terrain, and the collision with the tree.
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 had flown the aerial application flight for 12 minutes when he began to 'get oil on [the] windshield, and [began] losing oil pressure'. A precautionary landing ensued. During the landing roll, the right wing struck a tree. The airplane spun around and slid aideways, collapsing the left landing gear. The left wing was also 'wrinkled.' The pilot said he found the oil dipstick had not been secured.
Factual narrative
On October 19, 1998, approximately 1300 mountain daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-400, N73080, operated by J.R. Davis Flying Service under contract to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Aztec, New Mexico. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant aboard, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the aerial application flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 137. The flight originated at Aztec, New Mexico, approximately 1230.
According to the pilot's accident report, he had flown the aerial application flight for 12 minutes when he began to "get oil on [the] windshield, and [began] losing oil pressure." A precautionary landing ensued. During the landing roll, the right wing struck a tree. The airplane spun around and slid sideways, collapsing the left landing gear. The left wing was also "wrinkled." The pilot said he found the oil dipstick had not been secured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N73080
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-400
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 400-0639
- Airframe hours
- 4,171
- Engine
- P&W PT6-11, 600 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- James R. Davis
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 5, 1998 · 666 hours before
- Departed
- Q19 · NM
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
- 60
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 24,200 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 24,200 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 100° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 34 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FMN
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 N73080 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.