Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Woodsboro, Texas 78393
Saturday, May 31, 1997 14:35 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The operator stated that when he briefed the pilot on the day's mission, he told the pilot that the airplane was serviced with about one hour of fuel which was enough to spray the first field. The airplane departed on the first flight of the day from the operator's private airstrip with 125 gallons of pesticides. While spraying his second field, as he started the pull up for the turn to reverse direction, the engine 'began sputtering and coughing and continued to lose power.' The pilot elected to land on the cultivated field adjacent to a road in order to avoid power lines. During the landing roll on the waist high Milo field, the main landing gear tires sank in the soft ground and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest in the inverted position. Examination of the fuel system revealed that both fuel cells were dry and there was no evidence of fuel spill or leak near the wreckage. Examination of the engine did not provide any evidence of pre-existing anomalies that would have contributed to the loss of engine power. The pilot did not complete the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power as result of fuel exhaustion due to the pilot's failure to refuel the airplane. A factor was the unsuitable terrain available for the pilot to execute the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/31/1997
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1435
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City WOODSBORO
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 78393
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Witness
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
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) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 320
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1942
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date May 31 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2123
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:16PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N842KG
NTSB Number FTW97LA212
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Grumman
Aircraft Model G-164A
Aircraft Series Identifier G-164A
Aircraft Serial Number 1333
Certified Max Gross Weight 4500
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 --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name PATRICK Q. PEREZ
Aircraft Owner Street Address 100 JOHNSON STREET
Aircraft Owner City WOODSBORO
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 78393
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code ZUPE
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 1345
Departure Time Zone CDT
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 Maneuvering
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 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --