Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Anton, Texas 79313
Wednesday, November 7, 2001 8:00 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot had been applying chemical to a field for 20 minutes when the engine began to slowly lose power. The pilot abandoned the spray flight and initiated a return flight to the base airport. While en route back to the airport, the engine lost total power, and the pilot executed a forced landing to a field. During the landing roll, the airplane contacted a dirt terrace and nosed over, coming to rest inverted. Post accident examination of the engine revealed that the #5 cylinder displayed a crack that initiated at one spark plug, continued over the cylinder head, and ended at the second spark plug. The crack went through the entire thickness of the cylinder's casting.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The total loss of engine power while maneuvering due to a cracked cylinder, which resulted in a forced landing. A factor was lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/7/2001
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 800
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Anton
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 79313
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 11
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 Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 753 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 135
Weather Observation Facility ID LBB
Elevation of weather observation facility 3281
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 13
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 220
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.2
Density Altitude (feet) 3557
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) 11967
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 7 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 2 2002 4:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Lubbock, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2316X
NTSB Number FTW02LA030
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 Air Tractor
Aircraft Model AT-301
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 301-0380
Certified Max Gross Weight 5000
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 Feb 20 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 257
Airframe Hours 5131
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Pest Elimination Systems, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 1102
Aircraft Owner City Littlefield
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79339
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Brown Flying Service, Inc.
Operator Same as Owner? No
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 TCBG
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 --
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code Q00
Departure City Littlefield
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 710
Departure Time Zone CST
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 - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 13 2002 4:52PM
User who most recently changed record SNYG
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 --