Air Tractor AT 402A N247LA

Summary

On 21 August 2017 at about 23:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT 402A registered N247LA, operated by Boair Inc, was involved in an accident near Shaw, Mississippi, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

21 August 2017 at 23:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Shaw, Mississippi, United States

Nearest airport

Tapley Airport (1MS0)

Coordinates

33.5997, -90.7811

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT 402A

Registration

N247LA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Boair Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Shaw → Shaw

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA286

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s decision to attempt takeoff at high gross weight, in high density altitude conditions, and with insufficient runway length. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s inadequate preflight planning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was departing on an agricultural application flight from a 2,300-ft-long runway. When the airplane reached the end of the runway, the pilot could "feel that the airplane did not want to fly." The pilot extended the flaps, then dumped the spray load that was in the airplane’s hopper tank in an attempt to become airborne; however, the airplane continued off the end of the runway, crossed a drainage ditch, and came to rest in a bean field, resulting in substantial damage. The airplane’s hopper was loaded with about 3,400 lbs of a mixture of herbicide and other chemicals, which exceeded the hopper’s placarded limitation of 3,250 lbs. The airplane’s estimated weight at the time of the accident was 1,864 lbs higher than the manufacturer’s published gross weight and about 264 lbs more than field experience showed could be carried safely with adequate margins of performance and structural strength. Calculations by the airplane manufacturer using takeoff data of a similar airplane from a previous company test program indicated a takeoff ground roll distance of about 2,322 ft. Given the density altitude about the time of the accident, the airplane’s takeoff distance would have been increased by 24%, and there would have been an 18% decrease in its rate of climb. No preimpact failures or malfunctions were discovered that would have precluded normal operation. Despite the numerous indicators that the takeoff conditions were marginal, such as the high air temperature, high gross weight, and a short runway, the pilot failed to evaluate the conditions that existed in relation to the performance capability of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.