Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Uvalde, Texas 78802
Saturday, August 13, 2011 10:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot said he had just completed spraying a field during the aerial application flight when he noted that the airplane's global positioning system (GPS) unit had malfunctioned. As he attempted to troubleshoot the problem, the airplane’s engine power began to fluctuate. The pilot decided to make a precautionary landing. He looked inside the cockpit at the GPS, and, when he looked back outside, he noticed a set of power lines crossing the road. He was able to avoid them, then saw a second set of power lines. As he maneuvered the airplane to avoid them, he inadvertently stalled the airplane. The airplane’s right wing dropped and struck the power lines. The airplane then spun around and impacted terrain in an inverted attitude. A postaccident examination could not determine the reason for the drop in engine power. No other anomalies with the airplane were found.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering to avoid power lines during a precautionary landing, which resulted an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the fluctuating engine power for undetermined reasons and the pilot's preoccupation with the malfunctioning global positioning system.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/13/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Saturday |
| Time of Event | 1030 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Uvalde |
| Event State | TEXAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 78802 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 291224N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0993654W |
| 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 | Pilot |
| Time of the weather observation | 955 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KUVA |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 942 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | CDT |
| 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) | 35 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 18 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 120 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 8 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.95 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KUVA 151635Z AUTO 18005KT 10SM CLR 33/18 A2996 RMK |
| 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) | 29358 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA ASW 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 10 2012 11:36AM |
| User who most recently changed record | gagc |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N10119 |
| NTSB Number | CEN11LA571 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | Unknown |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | AIR TRACTOR INC |
| Aircraft Model | AT-402 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 402-0711 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 9170 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| 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 3 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 11000 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | L & W Flying Service, Inc. |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 413 Sul Ross Dr. |
| Aircraft Owner City | Uvalde |
| Aircraft Owner State | TX |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 78801-6916 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | L & W Flying Service, Inc. |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Uvalde |
| Operator State | TX |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 78801-6916 |
| Operator Code | YKLG |
| 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 | KUVA |
| Departure City | Uvalde |
| Departure State | TX |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 940 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | KUVA |
| Destination City | Uvalde |
| Destination State | TX |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Oct 24 2011 4:41PM |
| User who most recently changed record | scoa |
| 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 | -- |