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| Date: | Friday 20 June 2003 |
| Time: | 08:40 LT |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-301 |
| Owner/operator: | Robertson Crop Dusting Service Inc. |
| Registration: | N3659T |
| MSN: | 301-0329 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 7649 hours |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney R-1340 AN1 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Covert, Michigan -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Unknown |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | South Haven, MI (0D1) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing following a loss of engine power. The terrain was soft and rough, causing the aircraft to nose over prior to coming to a rest. The aircraft was most recently fueled with 100 gallons and consumed approximately 35 gallons/hour during flight. The pilot estimated the total flight time since refueling as 2-1/2 to 3 hours, accumulated over two or three flights. A total of 4 gallons of fuel were recovered from the aircraft after the accident. Unusable fuel was listed at 6 gallons according to the Federal Aviation Administration Type Certificate Data Sheet. No evidence of fuel contamination was present. A post-accident examination of the aircraft and engine did not reveal any pre-impact anomalies. The pilot stated that the "most probable cause [of the accident was a] lack of fuel."
Probable Cause: Failure of the pilot to verify fuel quantity prior to the accident flight, and fuel exhaustion resulting in a loss of engine power. Contributing factors were the soft, rough, unsuitable terrain for a forced landing.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB CHI03LA170
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 31 July 1998 | N3659T | Robertson Crop Dusting Service | 0 | Mentha, MI | |
sub |
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Oct-2022 11:18 | ASN Update Bot | Added |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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