History of the Flight
The aircraft departed from the company base at Eugene F. Correia International Airport for Bath Settlement Airstrip on 30 July 2016. It was being positioned to perform crop-dusting operations on rice fields near the airstrip. During the landing roll, after all three wheels were on the ground, the aircraft drifted left of the imaginary runway centerline. The pilot attempted to correct with right rudder and right brake, but the aircraft did not respond. The tail wheel was then unlocked, causing the aircraft to swerve sharply to the right. Despite application of brakes and reverse thrust, the aircraft continued right and ran off the runway. It came to a stop 953 feet from the runway end, at a 90-degree angle to the runway, at the edge of a trench on the right side of Runway 08.
Injuries to Persons
The pilot was the only occupant and was not injured. No other injuries were reported.
Damage to Aircraft
The propeller struck the ground, twisting all three blades inward at the tips. The nose of the aircraft was badly damaged. The propeller was later deemed unsafe to disassemble due to spring assembly instability and was considered damaged beyond repair. The engine sustained damage to multiple components, including the exhaust duct, baffle assembly, disk assembly, PT-shaft housing, small exit duct assembly, CT disk assembly, first-stage compressor rotor assembly, compressor centrifugal impeller, and its housing.
Pilot Information
The pilot was a 42-year-old Guyanese male holding a Guyana Commercial Pilot License issued on 9 December 1999. His last medical examination was on 3 May 2016, valid until 30 November 2016. He had type ratings for several aircraft, including the Thrush Commander S2R and Turbo Thrush S2R-HG-T34. His last proficiency check on type was on 14 July 2015. Total flying experience was 10,000 hours, with approximately 4,000 hours on type. In the preceding 30 days, he had flown 86 hours, 7 hours in the last 7 days, and 3 hours 17 minutes in the last 24 hours. He flew the same aircraft type for two companies: Air Services Ltd and Guyana Sugar Corporation Aircraft Department.
Aircraft Information
The aircraft was a Thrush Aircraft Inc. S2R-T34, serial number T34-337, year of manufacture 2010. Its Certificate of Registration was issued on 26 November 2014, and its Certificate of Airworthiness was valid until 27 March 2017. No other damage to property was reported.