Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Farm Air Service Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Altha, Florida 32421
Tuesady, July 8, 1997 16:50 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The flight was taking off on a runway that was part asphalt and part grass. The takeoff roll was started on the asphalt, and when the airplane reached the grass part of the runway, the pilot said he attempted to 'dump' the chemicals about 100 feet from the end of the runway, because the airplane would not come off the ground. The pilot was interviewed at his home by the Sheriff, and said; '...upon taking off, the plane would just not get up...he flew the plane earlier without a problem...when he dumped the load of chemicals on the runway, the plane went up, hit the top of a power pole with a wing and then went down into small pines....' The FAA inspector's reported stated that pilot said 'he had problems with aircraft performance on climbout.' Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any discrepancies. Several witnesses ran to the crash to aid the pilot, and they stated that when they reach the pilot they saw that he 'staggered and smelled of alcohol.' The witnesses said they did not see him consume anything before he got into a car 'Bronco' and leave the scene. A test taken in the hospital about 2 hours after the accident showed an ethanol level of 143 mg/dl in the pilot's blood.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
the pilot's impairment of judgment and performance due to alcohol which led to his failure to maintain control of the airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/8/1997 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1650 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | ALTHA |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 32421 |
| Event Date Year | 1997 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | FARM AIR SERVICE |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | 22FL |
| 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 | 150 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Unknown |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1650 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 185 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | PFN |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 21 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 35 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 25000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 15000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 0 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Variable |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | 0 |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | Unknown |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Minor |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | 0 |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | 0 |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 407 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 8 1997 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1834 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 31 2001 4:05AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1509C |
| NTSB Number | MIA97LA208 |
| 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 | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Air Tractor |
| Aircraft Model | AT-401 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | AT-401 |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 401-0828 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 1500 |
| 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 | SOUTHERFIELD AVIATION |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 223 AIRPORT RD. |
| Aircraft Owner City | AMERICUS |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 31709 |
| Operator is an individual? | -- |
| Operator Name | DONALD JOHNSON |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | POB 157 |
| Operator City | ALTHA |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | |
| Operator Zip code | 32421 |
| Operator Code | |
| Owner has at least one certificate | None |
| Other Operator of large aircraft? | No |
| Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation | Unknown |
| 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 | 22FL |
| Departure City | |
| Departure State | |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 1650 |
| 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 | Takeoff |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 31 2001 4:05AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 0 |
| Runway Length | 1900 |
| Runway Width | 60 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |