- Date
- September 23, 2006, 08:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Big Spring, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N23260Air Tractor 301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Lubbock, Texas
- FAA report
- 20060923019249A
- Case key
- 64588
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 loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as result of the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.
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 9,000-hour commercial pilot departed from a private airstrip on an aerial application flight. The pilot reported that just prior to reaching his destination, the fuel pressure light came on and the 600 horsepower radial engine lost power. The pilot elected to execute a forced landing to a field on a southern heading. The airplane sustained structural damage upon contact with trees during the forced landing. Examination of the airplane revealed that the loss of fuel pressure was the result of fuel exhaustion. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident scattered clouds prevailed at 6,000 and the winds were from 360 degrees at 8 knots. The airplane sustained structural damage upon impact with the trees. The pilot was not injured.
Factual narrative
The 9,000-hour commercial pilot departed from a private airstrip on an aerial application flight. The pilot reported that just prior to reaching his destination, the fuel pressure light came on and the 600 horsepower radial engine lost power. The pilot elected to execute a forced landing to a field on a southern heading. The airplane sustained structural damage upon contact with trees during the forced landing. Examination of the airplane revealed that the loss of fuel pressure was the result of fuel exhaustion. The pilot reported that at the time of the accident, scattered clouds prevailed at 6,000 and the winds were from 360 degrees at 8 knots. The airplane sustained structural damage upon impact with the trees. The pilot was not injured.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N23260
- Reported as
- Air Tractor 301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 373
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R1340 AN-1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 137
- Operator
- Harold Griffith
- Registered owner
- Elvira Griffith
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- Griffith Field
- Destination
- KBGS · Big Springs, TX
- Airport
- KBPG · Big Spring Municipal
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
- 65
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 1, 2006
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 9,000 total · 7,000 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 30 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.