Ayres S2R

Full Narrative

On October 18, 2019, at 1430 eastern daylight time, an Ayres S2R-G10, N762BF, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Shellman, Georgia. The commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial agricultural application flight.

According to the pilot, after adding 75 gallons of fuel (for a total of about 120 gallons on board), the flight departed a private field in Shellman, Georgia about 1330. About 1 hour later he had completed an aerial application and was enroute to home at an altitude of 600 ft mean sea level when the engine began “surging as if it were starving for fuel.” He performed a precautionary landing in a pasture; however, during the rollout, he purposely ground looped the airplane to avoid impacting an irrigation sprinkler. During the ground loop, the right main landing gear and tail wheel assemblies collapsed. The pilot reported that he noticed smoke coming from the engine nacelle after he exited the airplane. He informed the landowner of the off-field landing and asked the landowner to notify the fire department.

An examination of the wreckage at the accident site by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the airplane was mostly consumed by fire. The origin/source of the fire could not be determined at the scene.

The airplane was recovered to a salvage facility and was subsequently sold by the insurance company before a follow-up examination could be performed.