Air Tractor AT-802A N8505E

Summary

On 22 June 2003 at about 16:36 local time, a Air Tractor AT-802A registered N8505E was involved in an accident near Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 June 2003 at 16:36

Classification

Accident

Location

Las Vegas, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

35.9500, -104.9333

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-802A

Registration

N8505E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Las Vegas → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN03LA109

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance and visual lookout. Contributing factors were his attention being diverted and the trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was on his fourth sortie of the day, dropping retardant on a forest fire. He lowered flaps to 20 degrees and slowed the airplane to 100 to 120 knots in preparation for the drop. He passed the initial point in a slight right bank with a 500 to 600 foot per minute rate of descent and approximately a 3-degree glide angle. He momentarily diverted his attention to smoke rising from the target area. When he looked back, he saw a dead snag immediately in front of the airplane. He was unable to avoid hitting the tree due to its proximity and his rate of closure. The impact deflected the right elevator full down. The airplane pitched nose down and struck a second tree. The pilot regained limited control and returned to the airport, where he made an uneventful landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.