Air Tractor AT-602 N50929

Summary

On 29 January 1998 at about 13:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-602 registered N50929 was involved in an accident near Wrightsville, Georgia, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 January 1998 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Wrightsville, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

32.7208, -82.7199

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-602

Registration

N50929

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA98LA061

1 person was seriously injured.

The failure of the pilot to maintain airspeed (Vs) resulting in the inadvertent stall during the initial climb.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that after the engine was started, he remained on the ground about 45 minutes with it running while looking over charts, and also to eliminate frost which was on the wings. He also parked the airplane the night before so as to have the sun contact the wings to eliminate the frost. He then maneuvered the airplane onto the runway and when he applied full power, the engine torque was at the upper red line. About 1/2 way down the runway, he noted that the airplane was not accelerating as it had the day before, and with insufficient runway remaining to stop, he continued the takeoff. The airplane lifted off the ground then rolled to the left, impacted the ground, and rolled inverted. The pilot experienced difficulty in exiting the airplane out the left cockpit door and was assisted by ground personnel. His injuries included fractured vertabrae. Post accident examination of the left cockpit door emergency release assembly revealed that the forward hinge was slight dented, no other discrepancies were noted. The engine was removed from the airplane and sent to the manufacturers facility for further examination, which revealed no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.