None Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Tifton, Georgia 31794
Friday, July 8, 1994 11:40 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE AG PILOT WAS TAKING OFF WITH A LOAD OF WATER, TO PRACTICE AERIAL APPLICATION MANEUVERS. THE AIRCRAFT BECAME AIRBORNE ABOUT 2/3 DOWN THE DIRT RUNWAY. AFTER BECOMING AIRBORNE, THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED TOWARD THE RUNWAY. THE PILOT ATTEMPTED TO DUMP THE LOAD OF WATER; HOWEVER, THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT CLEAR PERIMETER TREES. THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED THE TREES, CRASHED INTO AN OPEN FIELD, AND BURNED. THE PILOT DID NOT REPORT ANY LOSS OF ENGINE POWER. AN EXAMINATION OF THE FLIGHT CONTROLS REVEALED THAT THE ELEVATOR TRIM WAS IN THE FULL NOSE DOWN POSITION. THE AIRCRAFT BEFORE TAKEOFF CHECKLIST SPECIFIES THAT ELEVATOR TRIM BE SET FOR TAKEOFF (NEUTRAL). FULL NOSE DOWN TRIM EQUATES TO ABOUT 12 DEGREES ABOVE NEUTRAL.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO FOLLOW THE AIRCRAFT CHECKLIST, RESULTING IN AN ATTEMPTED TAKEOFF WITH THE ELEVATOR TRIM IMPROPERLY SET. A FACTOR WAS THE TREES AT THE PERIMETER OF THE AIRSTRIP.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/8/1994
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1140
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City TIFTON
Event State GEORGIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 31794
Event Date Year 1994
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport NONE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 360
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1128 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 175
Weather Observation Facility ID VLD
Elevation of weather observation facility 204
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 36
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 2000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 1600
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1165
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 8 1994 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1310
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 6 2000 11:40AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N9583G
NTSB Number ATL94LA132
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion Unknown
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name CESSNA
Aircraft Model A188B
Aircraft Series Identifier A188B
Aircraft Serial Number 18801545T
Certified Max Gross Weight 3600
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 15 1994 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 148
Airframe Hours 4318
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name ROGERS, SAMMIE
Aircraft Owner Street Address ROUTE 5, BOX 524
Aircraft Owner City TIFTON
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 31794
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name LOWDER, BRUCE D.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address RT. 3, BOX 543
Operator City ADEL
Operator State GA
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 31620
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1140
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 4
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 20
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --