Air Tractor AT-301 N3166U

Summary

On 4 June 2004 at about 23:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-301 registered N3166U, operated by Robert Ferguson, was involved in an accident near Cotton Plant, Arkansas, 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

4 June 2004 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Cotton Plant, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

34.8800, -91.1764

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-301

Registration

N3166U

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Robert Ferguson

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cotton Plant → Cotton Plant

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

FTW04LA150

Nobody was injured.

The loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. A contributing 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

The 300-hour pilot reported that after performing an aerial application of fertilizer on a field for about 4 hours, the "engine started to sputter." The pilot initiated a forced landing to an adjacent field. During the landing roll, the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. Examination of the airplane revealed both fuel tanks remained intact and contained less then one gallon of fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.