Oneida, AR, USA
N802PR
AIR TRACTOR INC AT-802A
The pilot reported that, before the accident flight, the left fuel gauge indicated between empty and 1/4 full and that the right fuel gauge indicated a "little over" a 1/4 full. After taking off and conducting a few aerial application passes, the airplane experienced a total loss of engine power. Due to the low altitude at the time of the power loss, the pilot chose to perform a forced landing on a field. During the landing roll, the airplane entered a muddy area and then nosed over. During postaccident recovery of the airplane, about 1 1/2 gallons of fuel was drained from the airplane. No evidence of fuel spillage was found at the accident site.
On June 7, 2014, at 1000 central daylight time, an Air Tractor Inc. AT-802A, N802PR, experienced a total loss of engine power while returning from an aerial application of a field near Oneida, Arkansas. The airplane nosed-over during a forced landing and sustained substantial damage. The pilot was uninjured. The airplane was registered to A & L Farm Services Inc and operated by 4R Aviation LLC under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 137 as an aerial application flight that was not operating on a flight plan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was returning to Oneida, Arkansas. The pilot stated that he landed at a remote airstrip near Oneida, Arkansas, where the airplane was loaded with an "undetermined amount of fuel" and urea fertilizer. After the airplane was loaded with fuel and fertilizer, the left fuel gauge indicated between empty and ¼ full and the right fuel gauge indicated a "little over" a ¼ full. The flight then departed to a rice field, where the pilot flew a few passes applying the fertilizer on a rice field. During the last pass over the field, the engine "momentarily" lost power at the beginning and at the end of the field. He dumped the remained fertilizer on a corn field that was east of the rice field and began a return to the airstrip. The airplane then lost engine power about ½-3/4 mile from the airstrip. The pilot then turned on the fuel boost pump, but the engine did not regain power. He then determined that the airplane did not have enough airspeed and altitude to attain a landing on the airstrip so he performed a forced landing on a wheat field where the airplane made a three point landing and rolled into the muddy part of the field where it nosed over. During post-accident recovery of the airplane, about 1 ½ gallons of fuel was drained from the airplane. There was no evidence of fuel spillage at the accident site.
The pilot’s inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power at low altitude due to fuel exhaustion and a forced landing in a muddy field and subsequent nose-over.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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