Fabens Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Fabens, Texas 79838
Friday, August 17, 2001 9:10 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the preflight, the pilot did not visually check the fuel level to ensure the tanks were topped by ground personnel following the previous day's flight. After spraying 175 acres, the aircraft was en route to the airport for refueling and reloading of chemical when the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion. During the forced landing to a field, the tail wheel of the airplane struck a power line, and the airplane impacted the ground.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's inadequate preflight resulting in loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A contributing factor was the power line.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/17/2001
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 910
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Fabens
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79838
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 313056N
Event Location Longitude 1060850W
Event Location Airport Fabens
Event Location Nearest Airport ID E35
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 3679
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 50
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.85
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 10823
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Aug 17 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1210
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Oct 23 2001 10:32AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Albuquerque, New Mexico

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4890X
NTSB Number FTW01LA184
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Rockwell
Aircraft Model S-2R
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 2074R
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection 50
Airframe Hours 5300
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name T&T Aviation, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P. O. Box 1439
Aircraft Owner City Fabens
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79838
Operator is an individual? No
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 ZDEG
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code E35
Departure City Fabens
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 710
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code E35
Destination City Fabens
Destination State --
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Emergency descent/landing
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Oct 5 2001 11:51AM
User who most recently changed record MORJU
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --