# NTSB WPR14LA371: Ayres S2R T34, N3097F, Buckeye, AZ, September 9, 2014 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 9, 2014, 10:00 local (17:00 UTC) - Place: Buckeye, AZ - Coordinates: 33.18, -113.050003 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.1800&lon=-113.0500&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Takeoff: Fuel contamination](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/193) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 6, 2019 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Western Pacific Region - Parties: FAA, Pratt Whitney Canada - NTSB case key (mKey): 90052 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=WPR14LA371 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/90052/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90052 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR14LA371 ## Probable cause A partial loss of engine power due to water contamination of the fuel. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid condition (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Takeoff: Fuel contamination](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/193) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 225 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/193/sequence.md) ## Analysis The operator reported that the commercial pilot had conducted agricultural flights in the airplane for about 2 to 3 hours earlier on the morning of the accident without problems. During the initial climb for the accident flight, about 30 ft above ground level, the engine lost partial power. Subsequently, the pilot conducted an emergency landing straight ahead, and the airplane descended and impacted a field, during which the wings and fuselage were substantially damaged. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Fuel samples were taken from the fuel tanks and the operator's fuel supply tank. Testing of the samples revealed that the fuel from both the airplane's fuel tanks and the operator's supply tank were essentially water. It is likely that the loss of engine power was due to water contamination of the fuel. ## Factual narrative On September 9, 2014, about 1000 mountain standard time, an Ayres S2R-T34 airplane, N3097F, was substantially damaged during an off-airport emergency landing, following a loss of engine power during the takeoff initial climb from a private agricultural airstrip, about 30 miles west of Buckeye, Arizona. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Farm AG Enterprises, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed for the local flight that was originating at the time. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), a company representative reported that the pilot had flown the airplane for about 2-3 hours that morning, and no problems with the airplane had been reported. He said the pilot told him that during the accident takeoff, all systems were normal as the airplane lifted off the ground. Upon reaching about 30 ft above the ground, the engine's rpm dropped as though someone had pulled the power lever to idle. The pilot flew the airplane straight ahead, and it descended into a field. During the off-airport landing, the airplane sustained structural damage to the wings and fuselage. During a post-accident examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) air safety inspector no mechanical anomalies were found. Fuel samples were taken from the airplane and the operator's fuel supply tank and sent to an independent laboratory for testing. According to the laboratory director, the fuel samples taken from both the airplane's fuel system and the operator's supply tank were essentially water, and there was insufficient fuel in the samples to test. The operator/pilot did not submit the NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Form (NTSB 6120.1) to the NTSB. ## Aircraft - Registration: N3097F (not matched to a registry record) - Reported make and model: AYRES CORPORATION S2R T34 (T34) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: T34-114DC - Year built: 1989 - Engines: P&W CANADA PT6A-60A 1127 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Farm Ag Enterprises LLC - Registered owner: Farm Ag Enterprises LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Departed: Buckeye, AZ - Destination: Buckeye, AZ - Equipment: Unknown ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 68; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: unknown; seat: single; flight hours: 300 total, 300 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 84 °F, dew point 68 °F - Altimeter: 28.89 inHg - Observed at: KGBN, 24 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20140909015599A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20140909015599A), Sep 9, 2014: Ayres Corporation S2R-T34, Harquahala Vall, AZ, Substantial damage. Aircraft took off from soft field. Lost engine power approximately 20 to 30 feet AGL. Set down in desert just passed the end of the soft field. Slid for… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 24, 2019, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=90052. 309 KB in all. - International Notification (item 1, .PDF, 52 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40474500&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=International%20Notification-Master.PDF - Record of Conversation - FAA (item 2, .PDF, 54 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40474501&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20-%20FAA-Master.PDF - Record of Conversation - Operator (item 3, .PDF, 56 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40474502&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20-%20Operator-Master.PDF - Fuel Analysis Results (item 4, .PDF, 94 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40474503&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Fuel%20Analysis%20Results-Master.PDF - Fuel Sample Test Email (item 5, .PDF, 53 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40474504&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Fuel%20Sample%20Test%20Email-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.