Pilot Debrief

AIR TRACTOR INC AT-301 near Wheatland, WY — 2013-05-24

Final reportWPR13LA248
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Date
2013-05-24
Location
Wheatland, WY, USA
Aircraft
AIR TRACTOR INC AT-301
Registration
N23647
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Cruise

Probable cause

A loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and the pilot's inadequate fuel planning.

NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he departed for the agricultural aerial application flight with enough fuel to fly for about 1 hour 45 minutes. However, about 45 minutes into the flight, he noticed that the fuel gauges were indicating a low-fuel condition. He disregarded the gauges and continued his flight because he believed he had adequate fuel to complete the flight. A short time later, the engine lost power, and during the forced landing, the airplane impacted an irrigation ditch. Postaccident examination revealed about 1 gallon of fuel in each wing tank and no evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure that would have precluded normal operation. Further, no evidence of fuel staining streaks or other indications of fuel leakage were found on the airplane. It is likely that the pilot overestimated the amount of fuel onboard the airplane at the beginning of the flight and that the engine lost power due to fuel exhaustion.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Fuel management
First missed decision gate
Pilot should have landed when low fuel was first indicated.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

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