Air Tractor AT502 N2038Q

Summary

On 15 July 2020 at about 11:15 local time, a Air Tractor AT502 registered N2038Q, operated by Tim Whitfield Aviation Inc., was involved in an accident near Washington, North Carolina, 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

15 July 2020 at 11:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Washington, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Whitfield's East (23NR)

Coordinates

35.5611, -76.2319

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT502

Registration

N2038Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

2013

Engines

1

Operator

Tim Whitfield Aviation Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Washington → Washington

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA20CA253

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional during landing on a wet grass runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that after the completion of an aerial application flight, during the landing roll on a wet grass runway, the airplane slid off the left side of the runway, where the left wing subsequently impacted corn stalks, which "further drug the aircraft into the corn and ditch." The fuselage, wings, and empennage sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.