Pilot Debrief

Air Tractor AT802 near Dell, AR — 2020-08-21

Final reportCEN20LA357
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Date
2020-08-21
Location
Dell, AR, USA
Aircraft
Air Tractor AT802
Registration
N759FA
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Maneuvering

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and collision with terrain.

NTSB narrative

The pilot departed on his fourth agricultural flight of the day to apply a fungicide agent to the crop. Two witnesses, who saw the airplane during the flight, indicated that the airplane made a steep turn, then lost altitude. Postaccident examination of the accident site revealed, the airplane impacted terrain in a steep attitude. The front of the airplane was heavily damaged, the wings were accordioned-crushed along the wingspan, and the engine was embedded in the ground. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact abnormalities that would have contributed to the accident. Nonvolatile memory was successfully downloaded from the airplane’s engine monitor. A review of the data noted that the accident flight was the 630th session and that no anomalies in the engine parameters were recorded before the end of the recording. The accident is consistent with an aerodynamic stall following a loss of airspeed while the pilot maneuvered at low altitude.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Loss of control
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have avoided steep turn leading to loss of altitude.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents12

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