Air Tractor AT-502 N7319Y

Summary

On 20 March 1997 at about 18:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502 registered N7319Y was involved in an accident near Paragould, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

20 March 1997 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Paragould, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502

Registration

N7319Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA134

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees resulting in jammed control surfaces. A factor was that aircraft control was not possible by the pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he entered the field and felt a 'hard right hand pressure that he could not correct.' The pilot next remembers that the 'stick suddenly went sloppy.' The airplane flew over a row of 30 to 40 foot high trees and impacted the ground with the right wing low. A witness, in the first field, reported that she heard a loud 'pop,' and she looked up to see the airplane flying southeast across the field. She stated that the airplane was 'corkscrewing all the way around, maybe 3 or 4 times, before it went over the tree-line and out of sight.' She further stated that 'one wing was bent 90 degrees in half (at the midway point).' Another witness reported that he saw the airplane coming over the trees with 'something hanging down under the left wing at about the midpoint (like a support brace).' The witness further stated that 'at the same midpoint area of the left wing, he noticed that the leading edge was funny or something was flapping around.' Postcrash examination of the wreckage revealed the left wing leading edge was found crushed aft to the spar at the midpoint and the left wing spray boom was dented/bent approximately 2.5 feet inboard from the outboard end.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.