- Date
- August 18, 1993, 05:30 local (12:30 UTC)
- Place
- Dos Palos, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2330VAir Tractor AT-301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report August 1, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930818029699A
- Case key
- 28452
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 failure of the master rod which resulted in a complete loss of engine power and subsequent forced landing. The irrigation ditch was a factor in this accident.
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 airplane sustained a total loss of power while returning to the dirt airstrip. The pilot landed in a cultivated field and collided with an irrigation ditch during the landing roll. The examination of the engine disclosed that the master rod failed. The master rod failure mode could not be determined due to the severity of damage it sustained.
Factual narrative
On Wednesday, August 18, 1993, at 0530 hours Pacific daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-301, N2330V, collided with an irrigation ditch during an emergency landing near Dos Palos, California. The emergency landing was precipitated by a total loss of engine power. The pilot was conducting a local visual flight rules aerial application flight under 14 CFR Part 137. The airplane, operated by Spain Air, Inc., Dos Palos, sustained substantial damage. The certificated commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from a farm airstrip about 5 miles north of the accident site at 0500 hours.
The pilot reported the airplane's engine began to run rough while returning to the San Juan Airstrip to pick up another defoliating chemical load. The pilot heard a grinding noise followed by a complete loss of engine power. The pilot landed the airplane in a cultivated field where it collided with the irrigation ditch during the landing roll.
The airplane's engine was examined at Aero Engines, Inc., Los Angeles, California. During the examination, it was determined that the master rod failed. The master rod was too badly damaged to determine the mode of failure.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2330V
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- AT301-0392
- Airframe hours
- 8,716
- Engine
- P&W R-1340, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Spain Air Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · August 16, 1993 · 4 hours before
- Airport
- Q38 · Dos Palos Airport, runway 29, 2,600 × 60 ft, dirt
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 22,550 total · 12,750 in this make and model · 22,550 as pilot in command · 400 in the last 90 days · 110 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F
- Observed at
- MCE, 21 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.