AIR TRACTOR INC AT-401

Full Narrative

On March 26, 2022, about 1614 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-401, N9192E, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Rayville, Louisiana. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight.
The pilot reported that he was making the final agricultural spray passes on a field when the airplane engine began to “spit and sputter and miss”. He exited the field and climbed over trees and power transmission lines when the engine again started running abnormally. He examined the area for a safe place to land and the engine stopped producing power. He noted that the engine restarted and stopped two or three times as he maneuvered for landing. After touching down in a field, the airplane went over an embankment alongside a water-filled ditch. After it touched down on the opposite side of the ditch, the right wing struck an irrigation unit, the airplane turned sideways, and then nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to both wings.
During a telephone interview, the pilot reported that when the engine lost power he cycled the magnetos, actuated the wobble pump, and performed other troubleshooting checks, but he didn’t have much time. He noted that the engine acted like it ran out of fuel, but he had just fueled before the accident load. He noted that there was fuel on board and that the airplane had fuel pressure and he had checked the magnetos. He said that this was the 14th load of the day, and the airplane was running well. He remembered that the pretakeoff magneto check showed only 50 rpm drop on one and 60 on the other. When the engine stopped producing power, it “just quit and there wasn’t anything [he] could do about it”. He said they had been fueling the airplane every 2 loads and reiterated that they had fueled just before the accident load.
Postaccident examination confirmed engine rotation and valvetrain continuity. All cylinders except for the No. 8 cylinder produced suction and compression during propeller rotation. Removal of the No. 8 cylinder did not reveal any anomalies. Examination of the carburetor and airplane fuel system did not reveal any anomalies, and all engine controls were operational. Flight control continuity was confirmed.
The recovery crew reported that there was only a trace of fuel removed from the airplane when it was recovered from the accident site. The pilot’s son, who was present immediately after the accident, reported that fuel was draining from the right-wing tank vent and that he used a pair of pliers to pinch the tube shut and taped it. He also reported that during recovery, the recovery crew had three 30-gallon white plastic drums and that after draining fuel, two of the drums were full and the third was partially full.