- Date
- August 15, 1997, 21:30 local (Aug 16, 1997, 01:30 UTC)
- Place
- Waynesboro, GA
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N4411SAir Tractor AT-301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report February 2, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970815022579A
- Case key
- 38327
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 obscured vision of the pilot due to oil covering the windscreen. Contributing to the accident was the partial loss of engine power due to a cracked head of one of the cylinders and unsuitable terrain encountered during 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
After completion of spray application while returning to the departure airport, the engine experienced a partial loss of power and engine oil began covering the windscreen. The pilot initiated a forced landing on a road but during the landing roll, the airplane drifted off the road into a ditch and nosed over. Examination of the engine revealed that the head of the No. 1 cylinder was cracked from one spark plug hole to the other.
Factual narrative
On August 15, 1997, about 2130 eastern daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-301, N4411S, registered to a private individual, rolled over during the landing roll following a forced landing near Waynesboro, Georgia. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the flight operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the commercial-rated pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The flight originated about 2050, from the Burke County Airport, Waynesboro, Georgia.
The pilot stated that after completing spray operations during cruise flight while returning to the departure airport, the engine experienced a loss of power followed by oil spray on the windshield. With oil obscuring his vision he landed on a highway and during the landing roll, the left main landing gear traveled off the paved surface of the road onto dirt. The airplane then veered off the road into a ditch and rolled over.
Postcrash examination of the engine by an FAA airworthiness inspector revealed that the head of the No. 1 cylinder was cracked from one spark plug hole to the other.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4411S
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0071
- Airframe hours
- 5,450
- Engine
- P&W R1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Robert H. Mcmillan
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · July 2, 1997
- Departed
- BXG
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 12,888 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 12,500 as pilot in command · 750 in the last 90 days · 150 in the last 30 days · 12 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AGS
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 N4411S · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.