- Date
- September 9, 1992, 10:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Tranquillity, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Uncontrolled descent
- Aircraft
- N5674XAyres S2R-600
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 9, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920909035609A
- Case key
- 27757
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 improper inflight planning; his failure to attain the proper descent rate; and the excessive descent. Contributing to this accident was the landing gear collapse due to overload.
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 was conducting an aerial application flight over an alfalfa field. The pilot had to fly over trees and descend to align the airplane on the spray path. The pilot set up a high descent rate which he could not arrest. The airplane collided with the terrain, collapsed the right main landing gear and ground looped.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5674X
- Reported as
- Ayres S2R-600
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2433R
- Airframe hours
- 5,369
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Western Ag Aviation
- Registered owner
- Western Ag Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 5, 1992 · 436 hours before
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
- 30
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 4,196 total · 3,000 in this make and model · 4,114 as pilot in command · 350 in the last 90 days · 95 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 30 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F
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 N5674X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.