Air Tractor AT 502B N502LH

Summary

On 1 August 2015 at about 18:40 local time, a Air Tractor AT 502B registered N502LH, operated by C & L Holzwarth Inc, was involved in an accident near Virden, Illinois, 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

1 August 2015 at 18:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Virden, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Holzwarth Flying Service (25IL)

Coordinates

39.5167, -89.8761

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT 502B

Registration

N502LH

Category

Airplane

Year built

2009

Operator

C & L Holzwarth Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Virden → Virden

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN15LA335

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to establish a proper airspeed during takeoff with the airplane near its maximum gross weight and with a quartering tailwind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that the airplane had just been loaded and that he was beginning his sixth agricultural application flight of the day. He noted that, during the previous flights, the wind was from the southwest-southeast and less than 5 knots. Before departing on the sixth flight, he checked the wind sock, which indicated that the wind was from the southwest. He also checked his handheld GPS, which indicated that the local area wind was mainly from the west at 3 to 5 knots. The pilot started the takeoff roll on the runway heading west and noted that, three-quarters of the way down the runway, the airspeed had not yet reached takeoff speed. He jettisoned some of the load so that the airplane could clear the corn at the end of the runway. When the airplane cleared the corn, the pilot ceased the jettison. However, the airplane then began to descend, so the pilot jettisoned more of the load. The airplane continued to descend, banked hard left, and impacted the ground. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane was only about 30 lbs below its maximum gross weight. Witnesses stated that, immediately after the accident, the wind was from the southeast about 6 knots, which would have resulted in a quartering tailwind during the takeoff. It is likely that the combined effects of the airplane's near maximum gross weight and the quartering tailwind degraded the airplane's climb performance during takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.