Air Tractor AT-301 N69WN

Summary

On 18 August 2007 at about 13:52 local time, a Air Tractor AT-301 registered N69WN was involved in an accident near Alamosa, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 August 2007 at 13:52

Classification

Accident

Location

Alamosa, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

37.4350, -105.8667

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-301

Registration

N69WN

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Monte Vista → Monte Vista

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN07LA138

1 person had minor injuries.

The failure of the number one cylinder due to fatigue. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's diminished visual lookout due to the oil covered windscreen.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane was conducting aerial applications of anti-sprouting chemicals when the number one cylinder head separated. The windscreen was covered in oil, obscuring the pilot's view. The pilot dropped his chemical load and performed a forced landing to a dirt road. During the landing, the left wing impacted a sand berm and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest inverted, and resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported no additional anomalies with the airplane's systems. Examination of the fracture surface revealed fatigue cracking initiated from multiple locations in a root of the head threads and propagated in an arc to the outer surface of the combustion chamber wall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.