- Date
- April 17, 1993, 06:53 local (10:53 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Pierce, FL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7316LAir Tractor AT-401
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 10, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930417014409A
- Case key
- 33256
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
Failure of the no. 2 cylinder in fatigue for undetermined reasons, over unsuitable terrain. The lack of suitale terrain for the forced landing was a factor.
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 agricultural flight had departed the airstrip and was en route to spray a field when the engine began to run rough, smoke, and lose power. The pilot attempted to return to the airstrip but the engine did not produce adequate power. He initiated a forced landing to a drainage ditch. During the landing the airplane hit a sprinkler system and burst into flames. The no. 2 cylinder was found to be cracked across the dome from sparkplug hole to sparkplug hole. No records were found to determine the service history of the cylinder.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7316L
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-401
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 401 0675
- Airframe hours
- 2,923
- Engine
- P&W 1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Southeastern Aircraft
- Registered owner
- Southeastern Aircraft
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 1993 · 91 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
- 61
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 26,000 total · 143 in the last 90 days · 58 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- FPR, 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.