Weatherly 620B N350WR

Summary

On 7 June 2013 at about 01:30 local time, a Weatherly 620B registered N350WR, operated by Air Kraft Spraying Inc, was involved in an accident near Ludlow, South Dakota, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 June 2013 at 01:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Ludlow, South Dakota, United States

Coordinates

45.8447, -103.1494

Aircraft

Weatherly 620B

Registration

N350WR

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Air Kraft Spraying Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ludlow → Ludlow

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13FA324

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane while maneuvering, which resulted in an inadvertent stall. Contributing to the accident was task- and/or work-related fatigue.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had been performing aerial applications; the airplane was found crashed in a field adjacent to the area where he was applying applicant. A map of the 891.72-acre application area showed that it was asymmetrical and that it included a series of diagonally adjoining rectangular fields bounded by fences and property and an irregularly shaped field bounded by a curved highway. The fields to be treated were located north, south, and east of the accident site. According to an aerial application pilot familiar with the work site, if the accident pilot were following a north-south application path, it would have been appropriate for the airplane to fly over the accident area in straight-and-level flight without spraying any materials in that area. However, given the irregular shape of the application area, it is possible that the pilot may have been maneuvering the airplane for a different application path to another part of the field. An examination of the airplane, the engine, and related systems revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The damage to the airplane and ground scars were consistent with the airplane being at a high angle-of-attack, consistent with a stalled condition, at the time of impact. According to the pilot's colleagues, he got up at 0700 the morning of the accident after sleeping about 7 to 8 hours and started flying at 0930. He flew all morning and took a 10- to 15-minute break for lunch about 1300. The pilot then continued to fly until the time of the accident. He had flown at least 9 hours when the accident occurred. The low-level aerial application flight operations would have required considerable concentration to ensure proper application to the target crop, obstacle avoidance, and precise control of the airplane while dispensing multiple loads of chemical throughout the day. Such operations can induce fatigue, particularly when they are conducted during the course of a long work day like the pilot had. Therefore, it is likely that the pilot would have been affected by task- and/or work-related fatigue when the accident took place.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.