Pilot Debrief

Air Tractor AT 301 near Partridge, KS — 2018-08-29

Final reportCEN18LA356
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Date
2018-08-29
Location
Partridge, KS, USA
Airport
HUT
Aircraft
Air Tractor AT 301
Registration
N3164K
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Climb

Probable cause

The total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined based on the available evidence.

NTSB narrative

The commercial pilot reported that he had been flying for about 1 hour and was returning to the airport when the engine lost total power while the airplane was about 1,000 ft above ground level (agl). Although the engine momentarily regained power twice, for about 3 seconds each time when he used the manual fuel pump, the airplane continued to lose altitude. He attempted to land on a road but was unable to properly align the airplane's flightpath with the road. The airplane stalled about 20 ft agl, contacted the road, and bounced before coming to rest in an adjacent field, which resulted in substantial damage to the left wing. A postaccident engine examination did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Engine power loss
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have checked fuel levels before flight to prevent engine power loss.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 4 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents4

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