- Date
- June 27, 2000, 09:32 local (14:32 UTC)
- Place
- Hondo, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4917XRockwell S-2R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 4, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20000627010829A
- Case key
- 49549
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 fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the 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 317-hour private pilot reported that the engine lost power while he was practicing aerial application maneuvers over open fields 10 miles northwest of the airport. The pilot added that after the engine lost power, he attempted to land on a hard packed dirt road; however, he landed short of the road on a freshly plowed field. The airplane nosed over after the main wheels sank into the soft ground during the landing roll. The airplane came to rest in the inverted position. The pilot reported that the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion.
Factual narrative
On June 27, 2000, at 0932 central daylight time, a Rockwell S-2R tailwheel equipped agricultural airplane, N4917X, was substantially damaged when it nosed over during a forced landing in a soft field near Hondo, Texas. The private pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, was not injured. The airplane was owned and operated by Rusty's Flying Service of Hondo, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 flight, for which a flight plan was not filed. The personal flight originated from the Hondo Municipal Airport (HDO) at 0857.
The 317-hour private pilot reported that the engine lost power while he was practicing aerial application maneuvers over open fields 10 miles northwest of the airport. The pilot added that after the engine lost power, he attempted to land on a hard packed dirt road; however, he landed short of the road on a freshly plowed field. The airplane nosed over after the main wheels sank into the soft ground during the landing roll. The airplane came to rest in the inverted position.
Examination of the wreckage, by the FAA inspector, revealed that the vertical stabilizer and the rudder assembly sustained structural damage. Additionally, the top of the canopy and the left wing tip were also damaged. The pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1/2), that the loss of engine power was due to fuel exhaustion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4917X
- Reported as
- Rockwell S-2R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2110R
- Airframe hours
- 7,156
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rusty Lindeman
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · May 20, 2000 · 26 hours before
- Departed
- HDO
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
- 23
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 317 total · 20 in this make and model · 157 in the last 90 days · 47 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.