| Crash location | 33.575834°N, 90.551389°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Ruleville, MS
33.725948°N, 90.551481°W 10.4 miles away |
| Tail number | N51037 |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 09 Apr 2012 |
| Aircraft type | Air Tractor Inc AT-602 |
| Additional details: | None |
The pilot departed on an aerial application flight with an estimated 53 gallons of fuel. He had not reset the Shadin fuel totalizer prior to departure. He made numerous passes over a 100 acre field spraying fertilizer. On his last swath run he noticed the fuel flow fluctuate as he started a climb between 75 to 100 feet above ground level. The engine quit and he made a forced landing on a turn road. He observed a standpipe and attempted a lift off to clear the obstruction. The airplane touched down and the left main landing gear sank into soft ground shearing off the landing gear. The airplane rotated to the right onto its nose and back to the left. The left wing sustained structural damage. The total flight time was 30 minutes. The manufacture stated in an email to the NTSB investigator that the fuel burn rate at maximum takeoff power is 89 gallons per hour and the unusable fuel is 6 gallons. Post accident examination of the airplane by an FAA Inspector revealed the left and right main fuel caps had a tight seal. There was no evidence of streaking or venting of fuel on the airplane or on the ground. The fuel caps were removed and no fuel was present. The right fuel tank was sumped and about two ounces of fuel was drained from the fuel tank. The left fuel tank was sumped and no fuel was drained from the fuel tank. The header tank was sumped and about one quart of fuel was sumped from the header tank. The purge tank was sumped and no fuel was present.
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and in-flight fuel management, which resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.