8 Apr 2017: GRUMMAN ACFT ENG COR-SCHWEIZER G 164A A — TWIN COUNTY AIR-AG INC

8 Apr 2017: GRUMMAN ACFT ENG COR-SCHWEIZER G 164A A (N971QC) — TWIN COUNTY AIR-AG INC

No fatalities • Nome, TX, United States

Probable cause

An in-flight fire for reasons that could not be determined based on available information.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On April 8, 2017, about 0750 central daylight time, a Grumman G-164A agricultural airplane, N971QC, conducted a forced landing near Nome, Texas. The pilot was not injured and the airplane was destroyed by fire during the accident. The airplane was registered to and operated by Twin County Air-AG, Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan had been filed.

The pilot reported that he was conducting spray runs, when he noticed a burnt wire smell, he then noticed a low oil pressure indication. He partly opened the cabin door and noticed flames. The smoke and fire increased. Due to smoke in the cockpit, he had difficulty in seeing, but was able to find the engine fuel shut-off valve and closed it. The smoke cleared enough for him to select a hay field for a forced landing.

The responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector noted that after landing, the fire consumed the majority of the airplane. A review of the airplane records on file with the FAA, revealed that the airplane's original radial engine was replaced by a Walter M601E-11 turboprop engine; the Walter engine was subsequently replaced by Pratt & Whitney turboprop PT6A-27 engine on February 1, 2010.

The FAA inspector reported that the shop who owned the supplemental type certificate (STC) for the Pratt & Whitney did not perform, nor authorize the engine installation. He added the STC installation required special routing on the engine connections, including a 5-year replacement on the fuel lines. Investigators did not receive any records indicating the fuel lines were replaced in accordance with the STC. He also noted that the airplane's battery had recently been replaced.

The fire damage prevented a detailed inspection of the engine installation.

Contributing factors

  • Incorrect service/maintenance

Conditions

Weather
VMC, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.