Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Eldorado, Texas 76936
Saturday, July 7, 2007 1:20 UTC

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 30,000-hour commercial pilot reported that the turbine-powered agricultural airplane made a hard landing after experiencing a loss of engine power. The pilot added that he was performing the last aerial application flight of the day when the engine lost power. The pilot further stated that the tailwheel equipped airplane had been refueled from a 1,000 gallon fuel tank located at his property. He added that the fuel storage tank was contaminated with water due to the torrential rain experienced this season. The rain water entered the fuel storage tank through a worn-out seal on the tank's refueling port. The airplane came to rest on a rough and uneven clearing located about 3 miles from the point of departure. The landing gear separated from the aircraft upon landing and the fuselage sustained structural damage to the underside of the aircraft. The pilot was not injured during the mishap. A post accident examination of the airplane conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed that water contamination was present in the aircraft's engine fuel filter.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power as result of water contamination due to a faulty seal on the refuel tank port. A contributing factor was t he lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/7/2007
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 120
Event Time Zone Coordinated Universal Time? Same as GMT
Event City Eldorado
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 76936
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 305442N
Event Location Longitude 1004557W
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 3
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 2500
Weather Briefing Completeness --
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 None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 2
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
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) 22031
NTSB Notification Source FAA SAT FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Aug 30 2007 12:18PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office San Antonio, Texas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N712GS
NTSB Number DFW07CA151
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-402B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 402B-1186
Certified Max Gross Weight 7000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 52
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Bertram L. Bruton
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2709 FM 2401
Aircraft Owner City Garden City
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 79739
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 --
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 Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Eldorado
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone UTC
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Eldorado
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jul 30 2007 4:25PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --