Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Palestine, Arkansas 72372
Sunday, May 25, 2003 13:15 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Upon completing an aerial application of a field, the pilot was returning to a private airstrip to reload the hopper and refuel. During the return flight, the airplane "felt like it tried to nosedive." The pilot stated that he checked the power settings, extended the flaps, and initiated a forced landing to a field. During the forced landing, the airplane struck a levee and came to rest upright. Examination of the engine revealed that torsion shaft was fractured at the shear point.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The shearing of the torsion shaft which resulted in a loss of engine power. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/25/2003
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1315
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Palestine
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72372
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 345900N
Event Location Longitude 0905454W
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 Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1315 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 253
Weather Observation Facility ID SGT
Elevation of weather observation facility 224
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 41
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 9000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 10
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 19
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.85
Density Altitude (feet) 1472
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) 14271
NTSB Notification Source Little Rock FSDO
NTSB Notification Date May 27 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, Arkansas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6136Z
NTSB Number FTW03LA159
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 Ayres
Aircraft Model S2R-G6
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number G6-138
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Chism Flying Service, Inc
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 761
Aircraft Owner City Brinkley
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 72021
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 KOEG
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 --
Departure City Brinkley
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
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 - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Sep 4 2003 2:32PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --