Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Vandemere, North Carolina 28587
Thursday, August 23, 2007 8:15 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

While conducting aerial agricultural spraying, the airplane was in a turn when the pilot heard a loud squeal, the engine lost power, and the pilot prepared for a forced landing to a cornfield. During the landing, the airplane nosed-over and sustained substantial damage to the wings. Examination of the radial engine revealed the supercharger bearings failed and were ingested into the engine case. The exact cause of the supercharger failure could not be determined. The engine had accumulated 765 hours since major overhaul as of its most recent annual inspection, about 5 months prior to the accident. The recommended time to overhaul for the engine was 1,200 hours.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The loss of engine power due to the failure of the supercharger bearings.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/23/2007
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 815
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Vandemere
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 28587
Event Date Year 2007
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 351128N
Event Location Longitude 0763950W
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 --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 754 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID EWN
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 2100
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling --
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 9
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 6
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.14
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) 24408
NTSB Notification Source GSO FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Aug 23 2007 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Nov 13 2008 10:39AM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office GSO FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3163T
NTSB Number NYC07LA203
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 AIR TRACTOR
Aircraft Model AT-301
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 301-0527
Certified Max Gross Weight 6000
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2007 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 6568
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Dixie Flying Service
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Bradley
Aircraft Owner State AR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 71826
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name William Brinkley
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Dover
Operator State NC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 28526
Operator Code --
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 --
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 NONE
Departure City Fort Barnwell
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 740
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 USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 20 2008 2:20PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
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 --