Air Tractor AT-502 N10325
6 June 2016 · Ropesville, Texas, United States · Serious injuries
Summary
On 6 June 2016 at about 18:16 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502 registered N10325, operated by T-C Aerial LLC, was involved in an accident near Ropesville, Texas, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 18:16
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Ropesville, Texas, United States
- Coordinates
- 33.4133, -102.1542
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502
- Registration
- N10325
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1990
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- T-C Aerial LLC
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Littlefield → Littlefield
- Aircraft damage
- Destroyed
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN16LA208
People
1 person was seriously injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall while maneuvering.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The commercial pilot stated that during a routine aerial application, he circled the airplane around the field to be sprayed to locate obstacles. He sprayed the field from north to south and made passes from east to west. During the third pass, when the airplane exited the field to the west to return for an eastward pass, he felt the airplane shake at the apex of the turn. He said that he corrected for the shake/stall, and the shaking quit for a moment. He then felt the right wing "take a hard dip." The airplane entered a right roll, impacted the ground, and was destroyed. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane. It is likely that, while maneuvering, the pilot failed to maintain the proper airspeed and exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack, which led to an aerodynamic stall.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Air Tractor AT-502 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Apr 2016 | Air Tractor AT 502 | Kilbourne, Louisiana, United States | Pioneer Flying Service Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 18 Oct 2016 | Air Tractor AT 502 | Paragould, Arkansas, United States | DKD Flying Service | Minor injuries | - |
| 1 Jun 2016 | Air Tractor AT 502 | Nicolaus, California, United States | FARM AIR Flying Service INC | No injuries | - |
| 15 Jun 2016 | Air Tractor AT 502 | Delhi, Louisiana, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 8 May 2016 | Air Tractor AT 502 | Oberlin, Kansas, United States | Kelly Sykora | No injuries | - |
| 14 May 2016 | Air Tractor AT 502 | West, Texas, United States | Gerik Ag LLC | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 Jul 2016 | Waco YMF-F5C | Austin, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 7 Dec 2016 | Piper PA 34 | Denton, Texas, United States | U S Aviation Group LLC | No injuries | - |
| 8 Jul 2016 | Cessna 152 | Bridgeport, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 18 Jan 2016 | Aviat A-1C | Breckenridge, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Dec 2016 | Hiller OH 23B | Tynan, Texas, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 19 Jan 2016 | Piper PA 28RT-201 | Terrell, Texas, United States | J. Linn Aviation Inc | No injuries | - |