NTSB Identification: FTW97LA317.
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Accident occurred Saturday, August 16, 1997 in VERNON, TX
Probable Cause Approval Date: 06/26/1998
Aircraft: Air Tractor AT-301, registration: N2316X
Injuries: 1 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.The pilot reported that he was flying a swath run over a cotton field at dusk, when his airplane's engine 'lost most of its power.' He stated that he tried to land straight ahead, but 'had to pop-up over a road into the next field.' The next field was terraced. During the landing, the airplane impacted a terrace, which 'flipped the airplane over on its back.' The farmer, whose field was being sprayed, reported to the pilot that 'there was a vertical piece of irrigation pipe in the field that was bent.' The repair facility, where the engine was sent, reported that the number 5 cylinder had received damage when it was 'apparently struck or hit by something.'
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
failure of the pilot to maintain clearance from an irrigation pipe. Factors relating to the accident were: the poor light condition at dusk, the object (vertical piece of irragation pipe), loss of engine power from foreign object damage, and the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing. Full narrative availableIndex for Aug1997 | Index of months