Air Tractor AT-402 N45553

Summary

On 24 May 2004 at about 19:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-402 registered N45553 was involved in an accident near Beedeville, Arkansas, 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

24 May 2004 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Beedeville, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

35.3986, -91.1333

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-402

Registration

N45553

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newport → Beedeville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04CA139

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during landing roll-out. Contributing factors were the crosswind and condition of the the runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 14,000-hour pilot stated that he landed his tail wheel equipped airplane to the east on a 2,500-foot rough grass airstrip with a prevailing crosswind from the south. During the landing roll-out, he reversed the propeller into beta to accelerate the braking action. However, directional control was "minimized due to the crosswind", propeller reversal, and the condition of the runway. The pilot stated that the airplane drifted to the left, and the left wing tip collided with a tree causing the airplane to ground loop and impact trees with the right wing and propeller. He reported no mechanical deficiencies.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.