Headland Municipal A/P Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Dothan, Alabama 36353
Saturday, August 8, 1998 10:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he had just finished spraying chemical on a field and was turning towards another field. He was at 200-300 feet when the engine 'popped' and quit. He attempted to restart, and set up to land on a county road. The vertical stabilizer struck a power line, and the airplane yawed to the left. The airplane then touched down, bounced, struck a tree, and ground looped, finally coming to rest near the treeline. According to the FAA Inspector who examined the airplane. The pilot had departed Headland Municipal Airport with about 65 gallons of fuel onboard, 50 gallons in the left tank and 15 gallons in the right. According to the pilot, the airplane burns about 50 gallons of fuel an hour. Examination of the airplane found no fuel remaining in the fuel tanks nor any odor of fuel at the crash site.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Fuel Exhaustion due to the pilot's improper fuel consumption calculations. A factor was the power line.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/8/1998
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1030
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City DOTHAN
Event State ALABAMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 36353
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HEADLAND MUNICIPAL A/P
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OJ6
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 3
Degrees magnetic from airport 320
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1050 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 180
Weather Observation Facility ID DHN
Elevation of weather observation facility 401
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 5
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 1500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) 25
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
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) 30
Density Altitude (feet) 2100
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) 894
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Aug 8 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1322
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:41AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N5033X
NTSB Number ATL98LA107
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 Rockwell
Aircraft Model S-2R
Aircraft Series Identifier S-2R
Aircraft Serial Number 5065R
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
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 May 20 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 75
Airframe Hours 6818
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MERRILL AVIATION SERVICES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 503 OLYMPIA DRIVE
Aircraft Owner City DOTHAN
Aircraft Owner State AL
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 36301
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 M16G
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 No
Departure Airport Code 0J6
Departure City HEADLAND
Departure State AL
Departure Country
Departure Time 940
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 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 --