Accident Air Tractor AT-400 N73127, Saturday 19 April 1997

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Date:	Saturday 19 April 1997
Time:	14:00 LT
Type:	Air Tractor AT-400
Owner/operator:	Benny White Flying Svc Inc
Registration:	N73127
MSN:	301-0667
Year of manufacture:	1987
Total airframe hrs:	3562 hours
Engine model:	P&W PT6A-27
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Aircraft damage:	Substantial
Category:	Accident
Location:	Fluvanna, TX - United States of America
Phase:	Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:	Agricultural
Departure airport:	Lamesa, TX
Destination airport:
Investigating agency:	NTSB
Confidence Rating:	Accident investigation report completed and information captured

Narrative:
The pilot was performing a swath run when he felt a vibration, and then the engine lost power. A forced landing was initiated to a plowed field. During the landing sequence, the left main landing gear separated from the fuselage, and the right wing spar was bent upward. A teardown inspection of the airplane's engine revealed that the reduction gear box failed and sheared the drive shaft. According to the FAA inspector, 'This failure allowed a turbine over speed to the point that the turbine blades separated from the wheel causing a contained catastrophic failure.'

Probable Cause: The loss of engine power due to the failure of the reduction gear box. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

Accident investigation: