ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 43199
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| Date: | Tuesday 2 July 1996 |
| Time: | 10:30 LT |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-400 |
| Owner/operator: | Homer Youngblood |
| Registration: | N501JS |
| MSN: | 0485 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 3735 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W PT6A-15AG |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Huffman, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | (NONE) |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
After completing aerial application, the pilot entered a right base turn to final approach for landing at a private dirt airstrip. During the turn, a witness observed the 'the left wing' go down and 'also the nose.' The airplane crashed in a left wing low (descending) attitude. The pilot/mechanic had performed maintenance on the aircraft and had certified on March 1, 1995, that the 'aircraft has been inspected in accordance with an annual inspection and was determined to be in an airworthy condition.' Postaccident examination revealed that the empennage flight controls exhibited severe corrosion. The left elevator bellcrank assembly elevator horn was found separated from the control rod elevator torque tube. The left stabilizer strut lower attachment was separated where the tube of the strut was welded to the 'U' shaped attachment bracket. Examination of the 'U' bracket only revealed corroded remnants of the forward bracket and no evidence of the edge welds that joined the bracket pieces together. Fracture surfaces on the elevator horn were consistent with overstress separation. Manufacturing specifications required a 0.080 inch steel sheet for the elevator horn. Over the majority of the horn and near the control rod attachment fracture, the thickness was as low as 0.059 inches.
Probable Cause: corroded flight control components, due to the operator's inadequate maintenance and inspection of the airplane; the pilot's failure to follow procedures and directives, by flying the airplane without proper maintenance and annual inspection; and subsequent failure of a corroded flight control component.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB FTW96FA288
Location
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] |
| 09-Apr-2024 05:54 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Time, Cn, Other fatalities, Phase, Departure airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report] |
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