Pilot Debrief

Air Tractor AT802 near Birch Creek, AK — 2020-07-14

Final reportANC20LA069
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Date
2020-07-14
Location
Birch Creek, AK, USA
Aircraft
Air Tractor AT802
Registration
N80166
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

A loss of control for undetermined reasons while on the surface of the water during scoop operations in support of wildland firefighting operations.

NTSB narrative

The mission-specific modified airplane was used to support wildland firefighting operations. It was equipped with amphibious floats that routed water through a dual scoop system to a hopper located in the airplane. The scoops could be manually deployed by a switch located on the control stick. According to the pilot, on the 28th scoop of the day, he touched down on the surface of the water and deployed the scoops to begin filling the airplane’s hopper when the airplane veered to the right. In an effort to correct for the veer, he released the scoop switch and applied left rudder to no avail. He retarded the throttle and applied reverse thrust as the airplane began to impact trees located on the lake’s shoreline. The airplane came to rest upright in a marshy area on the lake’s shoreline sustaining substantial damage to the right wing. A series of detailed examinations of the airplane, including its water scoop system, revealed no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operations.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have aborted the scoop deployment earlier to prevent loss of control.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • FDR / data
  • ADS-B / radar
  • Photos
  • 12 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents12

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