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| Date: | Wednesday 26 September 1990 |
| Time: | 09:14 |
| Type: |  Ayres S-2R-T34 Turbo Thrush |
| Owner/operator: | George Clanton Dusting Sprayin |
| Registration: | N4017B |
| MSN: | T34-002 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 5592 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W PT6A-34AG |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Thornton, MS -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Yazoo City, MS (87I) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
AIRPLANE EXPERIENCED SEPARATION OF RIGHT WING WHILE PULLING UP FROM AGRICULTURAL SPRAYING RUN. WING SEPARATED DUE TO FATIGUE FAILURE OF THE BOTTOM SPAR CAP WHICH WAS THE RESULT OF A HOLE BEING DRILLED INTO THE CAP. THE HOLE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN DRILLED INTO THE CAP DURING INSTALLATION OF A WING MOUNTED AIR CONDITIONING COMPRESSOR, SIX YEARS AND 4,130 FLIGHT HOURS BEFORE THE FAILURE. THE AIR CONDITIONING UNIT WAS REMOVED 10 MONTHS LATER AND A PATCH WAS PLACED OVER THE AREA THE HOLE HAD BEEN DRILLED IN SPAR CAP. THE HOLE WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN VISIBLE DURING INSPECTION UNLESS MECHANIC REMOVED PATCH. CAUSE: THE IMPROPER DRILLING OF A HOLE IN THE SPAR CAP BY A MECHANIC RESULTING IN THE INITIATION OF FATIGUE CRACKING IN THE SPAR CAP AND SUBSEQUENT FAILURE OF THE SPAR CAP AND INFLIGHT SEPARATION OF THE WING.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X24323
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2008 10:30 | ASN archive | Added |
| 21-Dec-2016 19:24 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency, ] |
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