Air Tractor AT-602 N5006V

Summary

On 2 March 2005 at about 12:45 local time, a Air Tractor AT-602 registered N5006V, operated by Gentry's Flying Service, LLC., was involved in an accident near Panama City, Florida, 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

2 March 2005 at 12:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Panama City, Florida, United States

Coordinates

30.2000, -85.6667

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-602

Registration

N5006V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Gentry's Flying Service, LLC.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Panama City → Panama City

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC05CA040

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to remove frost from the airplane which resulted in an inadvertent stall/mush during the takeoff/initial climb, and an in-flight collision with trees. Contributing to the accident were the rough and uneven airstrip, and degraded aircraft performance due to frost on the wing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The operator reported that the certificated commercial pilot was departing from a private airstrip in a turbine-powered airplane with 3,500 pounds of fertilizer on board. The operator noted that the accident flight was the pilot's first flight of the day, and that there was "heavy frost on the aircraft" prior to departure. During the pilot's takeoff run on the rough and uneven airstrip, the airplane's main wheels struck a bump that bounced the airplane into the air. Once the airplane was airborne, it rolled left, and the left wing struck the ground. The operator wrote, in part: "At this point, the aircraft was trying to gain altitude, but stalled and went into the trees under full power..." The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage. The operator reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.