Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Nashville, Tennessee 37076
Friday, November 14, 2008 11:40 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The owner of the Snow 600 aerial application airplane stated that the airplane had not been flown “in some time.” The airplane was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney R-1340 series engine. According to the pilot, he agreed to reposition the airplane to another airport as a favor for the owner. The day before the flight, the pilot examined the airplane, and conducted an engine run-up to assure himself that the airplane appeared to be acceptable for flight. He reported some minor airframe discrepancies to the owner, and these were rectified prior to the accident flight. The airplane was not flown between the pilot's initial examination and the accident flight. Several minutes after takeoff on the positioning flight, the pilot noted that oil began to coat his windshield, and he saw white smoke emanating from the engine area. He selected a field for a forced landing, and conducted an uneventful touchdown. During the rollout, the right wing struck a tree, approximately 3 feet inboard from the wingtip. The airplane partially rotated around the tree, and the right main landing gear and tailwheel were damaged. Postaccident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector and a mechanic revealed that oil had leaked from an undetermined location at the forward end of the engine near the propeller shaft and hub assembly.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the propeller shaft seal in flight. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/14/2008
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1140
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Nashville
Event State TENNESSEE
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 37076
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 11
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 360618N
Event Location Longitude 0863343W
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 1153 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID BNA
Elevation of weather observation facility 495
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 6
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 10000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 170
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) 29.81
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) 24832
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern Region ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 22 2009 9:13AM
User who most recently changed record grol
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1691S
NTSB Number ERA09CA054
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Snow
Aircraft Model 600
Aircraft Series Identifier S2C
Aircraft Serial Number 600-1273C
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Feb 20 1991 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 5505
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Ewing Dusting Service
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Fitzgerald
Aircraft Owner State GA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 31750
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Ewing Dusting Service
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Fitzgerald
Operator State GA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 31750
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 Non-scheduled
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Domestic
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Positioning
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code BNA
Departure City Nashville
Departure State TN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code THA
Destination City Tullahoma
Destination State TN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Dec 23 2008 3:23PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --