Air Tractor AT-502 N4550N

Summary

On 29 August 2005 at about 00:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502 registered N4550N, operated by Newberg Sky Spray, was involved in an accident near Hector, Minnesota, 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

29 August 2005 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Hector, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

44.5472, -95.0822

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502

Registration

N4550N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Newberg Sky Spray

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hector → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI05CA245

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to achieve adequate airspeed on takeoff which resulted in the airplane entering a stall/mush when it flew out of ground effect while crossing a large drainage ditch on takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with the terrain and a corn crop during takeoff on a 2,800 foot long runway. The pilot reported he noticed that the airplane was not developing full power during the takeoff. He reported he was about half way down the runway at the time. He reported, "As I lifted off the end of the runway I was just barely flying. I had to cross a large drainage ditch thus losing ground effect." The pilot reported that the main gear touched down and the tail wheel hit the bank on the far side of the drainage ditch prior to the airplane coming to rest in a corn field. The airplane was loaded with 450 pounds of insecticide at the time of the accident. The pilot reported the local winds were from 300 degrees at 2 to 3 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.