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| Date: | Friday 29 December 2023 |
| Time: | 11:08 |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-502A |
| Owner/operator: | |
| Registration: | ZS-XPC |
| MSN: | 502A-3241 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2020 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1863 hours |
| Engine model: | P&W PT6A-140AG |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Carletonville, Gauteng -
 South Africa
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | |
| Investigating agency: | CAA S.A. |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
An Air Tractor AT-502A (ZS-XPC) and a Cessna T182T Skylane TC (ZS-STD) crashed following a mid air collision near Carletonville, Gauteng.
The pilot of the Air Tractor and the two occupants of the Cessna died and both aircraft were destroyed.
The pilot of ZS-XPC was engaged in a crop-spraying flight and was using a gravel runway on a farm located 6 nautical miles (nm) or 11 kilometres (km) to the west of the maize field which was scheduled to be crop-sprayed. The pilots of ZS-STD were surveying the farm at a higher altitude than that of ZS-XPC. A witness observed the two aircraft flying next to each other. Shortly after, ZS-STD turned right and collided with ZS-XPC. Both pilots lost control of their aircraft, and they crashed on a neighbouring farm. The occupants of both aircraft were fatally injured, and both aircraft were destroyed.
The ZS-STD encroached the manoeuvring area of ZS-XPC when it turned right (at the same height) and collided with ZS-XPC. The ZS-XPC was also turning right at the time as the pilot was positioning for his next spray run when the collision occurred; both aircraft crashed to the ground.
Contributory Factors
- The Cessna 182 is a high-wing aircraft. During a turn (on either side), the wing structure could limit/restrict or blank out the pilot’s view depending on the bank angle. It is believed that this phenomenon contributed to this accident as the pilot of ZS-STD did not see ZS-XPC during the right turn.
- The two pilots on-board ZS-STD failed to keep a proper lookout before executing the right turn.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.citizen.co.za/potchefstroom-herald/news/2023/12/29/mielieboer-en-vrou-sterf-in-fratsongeluk-met-spuitvliegtuig/
https://maroelamedia.co.za/nuus/sa-nuus/drie-dood-na-vliegtuie-in-lug-bo-carletonville-bots/
https://www.avcom.co.za/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=262424
FlyAfrica
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 8 January 2022 | ZS-XPC | 0 | Elandsfontein | |
unk | |
| Collision with person/animal. | ||||||
Location
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 29-Dec-2023 13:09 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 29-Dec-2023 14:27 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Narrative, ] |
| 29-Dec-2023 15:21 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Location, Phase, Nature, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 29-Dec-2023 15:24 | harro | Updated [Nature, Narrative, ] |
| 29-Dec-2023 15:36 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Country, Source, Narrative, Category, ] |
| 29-Dec-2023 15:38 | harro | Updated [Country, Source, Narrative, ] |
| 06-Feb-2024 20:44 | ASN | Updated [Time, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 06-Feb-2024 20:46 | ASN | Updated |
| 05-Nov-2024 09:39 | ASN | Updated [Other fatalities, Narrative, Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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