Air Tractor AT-400 N3654G

Summary

On 25 August 1997 at about 17:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-400 registered N3654G was involved in an accident near Sudan, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 August 1997 at 17:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Sudan, Texas, United States

Coordinates

34.0606, -102.5207

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-400

Registration

N3654G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA321

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to the failure of a compressor turbine blade. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the aerial application flight, the engine of the agricultural airplane lost power, and the pilot executed a forced landing in a cotton field. During the ground roll across the furrows in the field, the left main wheel separated from the landing gear leg, and subsequently, the right main landing gear leg separated from the fuselage. Examination of the engine revealed that a blade failure at the compressor turbine disk had occurred resulting in extensive damage to the hot section of the engine and the complete loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.