Accident Air Tractor Inc AT-301 N3170C, Thursday 15 January 2009

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Date:	Thursday 15 January 2009
Time:	08:45 LT
Type:	Air Tractor Inc AT-301
Owner/operator:	Flying B Aviation LLC
Registration:	N3170C
MSN:	301-0591
Year of manufacture:	1984
Engine model:	Pratt & Whitney R-1340
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Beaver, Utah - United States of America
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:	Beaver, UT (U52)
Destination airport:	Beaver, UT (U52)
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
While maneuvering during an aerial application flight, the pilot noted that the engine began to vibrate and lose power. During the forced landing, the airplane nosed over on the snow-covered terrain. The airplane was recovered from the accident site and examined. No internal engine components were found to have malfunctioned. One of the propeller blade's pitch change pins was observed sheared.

Probable Cause: A loss of engine power while maneuvering due to a sheared propeller blade's pitch change link. Contributing to the accident was lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Accident investigation: