- Date
- December 8, 1984, 11:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- West Helena, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8503VRockwell S-2R
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19841208065819A
- Case key
- 33896
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
On departing West Helena arpt the plt reduced pwr to a cruise pwr setting. The engine responded to the pwr reduction but then the torque dropped to zero. The acft descended striking the ground. Inspection and testing of the engine and fuel control unit did not reveal any significant problem. Some debris was noted in the fuel control inline filter which restricted fuel flow.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8503V
- Reported as
- Rockwell S-2R
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2263R
- Airframe hours
- 3,522
- Engine
- P&W PT6A-34AG, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Riddell Flying Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 27, 1984 · 332 hours before
- Departed
- West Helena, AR
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 10,500 total · 500 in this make and model · 10,300 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.