Air Tractor AT-402A N198AS

Summary

On 24 May 2005 at about 19:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-402A registered N198AS, operated by Runsick Flying Service, was involved in an accident near Cherry Valley, 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 2005 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Cherry Valley, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Private (NONE)

Coordinates

35.3708, -90.7561

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-402A

Registration

N198AS

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Runsick Flying Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Cherry Valley → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW05CA131

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to calculate take off-distance performance data, which resulted in insufficient runway length for take off. Factors were the tailwind and high gross weight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 1,931-hour commercial pilot departed on his twenty-first flight of the day from a 2,200-foot-long and 70-foot-wide grass runway with a 22 knot tailwind. The airplane was loaded with less fuel and the same amount of fertilizer as the previous twenty flights, but the wind velocity had steadily increased throughout the day. The pilot said the airplane became airborne approximately 1,800 to 1,900 feet down the runway, but stayed in ground effect and subsequently struck two levees before it crossed a gravel road and impacted a ditch. The airplane eventually came to rest in a bean field. He said, "The tailwind and the load probably caused the airplane not to climb." The pilot also said that he did not calculate any take off performance data prior to departure.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.