Accident Air Tractor AT-502B N90805,
ASN logo
ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 138932
 
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information. If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.

Date:Tuesday 4 October 2011
Time:07:15
Type:Silhouette image of generic AT5T model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Air Tractor AT-502B
Owner/operator:Southeastern Aerial Crop Service Inc
Registration: N90805
MSN: 502B-0597
Year of manufacture:2000
Total airframe hrs:7450 hours
Engine model:Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34AG
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage: Substantial
Category:Accident
Location:Western St. Lucie County, FL -   United States of America
Phase: Take off
Nature:Agricultural
Departure airport:Fort Pierce, FL (FD30)
Destination airport:Fort Pierce, FL (FD30)
Investigating agency: NTSB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
The pilot taxied the airplane to the end of the runway with the flaps set to three-fourths in preparation for takeoff. As the airplane accelerated down the runway, the tail of the airplane did not rise as the pilot expected, so he extended the flaps fully. As the airplane reached the end of the runway, the pilot believed that the airplane "did not want to fly." He elaborated that, while the engine instruments indicated no abnormalities, the engine was not providing the amount of power he expected and that the airplane's performance was sluggish. He attempted to jettison the loaded chemical to reduce the airplane's weight, but when he attempted to actuate the load-jettison handle, it would not move. As the airplane approached tall trees beyond the end of the runway and with the airplane nearing a stalled condition, the pilot attempted to land the airplane in an agricultural field ahead. During the landing, the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the nose, empennage, and left wing. A postaccident examination found no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the engine and that the load jettison mechanism functioned normally. An accurate determination of the airplane's weight at the time of the accident could not be calculated due to variances in the values provided by the pilot and the operator.
Probable Cause: The pilot's delayed decision to abort the takeoff.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: NTSB
Report number: ERA12CA003
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 2 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

NTSB

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
04-Oct-2011 09:04 RobertMB Added
21-Dec-2016 19:26 ASN Update Bot Updated [Time, Damage, Category, Investigating agency]
27-Nov-2017 17:21 ASN Update Bot Updated [Operator, Other fatalities, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:

CONNECT WITH US: FSF on social media FSF Facebook FSF Twitter FSF Youtube FSF LinkedIn FSF Instagram

©2024 Flight Safety Foundation

1920 Ballenger Av, 4th Fl.
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
www.FlightSafety.org