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| Date: | Saturday 3 June 2023 |
| Time: | 11:58 |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-502B |
| Owner/operator: | Baylee Company Inc dba Crop Doctor |
| Registration: | N509HB |
| MSN: | 502B-2673 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2009 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Lake Village, AR -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Lake Village, AR |
| Lake Village, AR | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On June 3, 2023, about 1158 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502B airplane, N509HB, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Lake Village, Arkansas. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 137 aerial application flight.
The pilot was departing from a 2,100-ft-long airstrip used for agricultural operations. The pilot reported that shortly after departure, the airplane lost thrust, but the engine remained operating. Unable to continue flight with diminished thrust, the pilot started to jettison fertilizer and completed a forced landing to a field, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings.
A postaccident engine and propeller examination did not reveal any evidence of a mechanical malfunction or failure consistent with an inability to produce rated engine power. Damage to the propeller blades was consistent with high impact forces while the propeller was rotating at low power at a low blade pitch angle.
The airplane’s gross weight and center-of-gravity limits could not be definitively determined. However, based on the available evidence, the airplane weight was estimated to be at or above 8,000 lbs. Takeoff distance data indicated the distance required for takeoff would have been between 1,418 ft and 2,156 ft. The runway used for takeoff was 2,100 ft long.
The reason for a loss of engine power as described by the pilot could not be determined as no anomalies were found with the engine.
Probable Cause: A reported loss of thrust for reasons that could not be determined.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=192306
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N509HB
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 05-Jun-2023 16:12 | AgOps | Added |
| 20-Jun-2023 18:25 | Captain Adam | Updated |
| 20-Mar-2025 21:09 | Captain Adam | Updated [Operator, Location, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
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