Air Tractor AT-402A N50963

Summary

On 13 March 1998 at about 21:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-402A registered N50963, operated by Randall M. Gibson, was involved in an accident near Moreland, Idaho, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 March 1998 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Moreland, Idaho, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-402A

Registration

N50963

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Randall M. Gibson

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Unknown

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Blackfoot → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA98LA045

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was his lack of familiarity in the make/model.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The (PIC) pilot-in-command (prospective buyer) was given an oral checkout and training by a representative of the aircraft sales distributor and then he departed on his first flight. He had never flown this make/model, and reportedly had no turbine/turbo-prop experience. He had accumulated over 600 hours in a reciprocating powered crop duster with similar flight characteristics. Several witnesses reported observing the aircraft in a spin, and on-site examination revealed that the aircraft impacted in a slight nose/right wing low, inverted attitude with no forward momentum. No witnesses observed the entry maneuver that led to the inverted spin. The engine was disassembled and no evidence of mechanical malfunction was found. The weight and center of gravity was within limits at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.