Air Tractor AT502 N334LA
15 July 2021 · Edcouch, Texas, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 15 July 2021 at about 16:10 local time, a Air Tractor AT502 registered N334LA, operated by Sun Valley Dusting Company, was involved in an accident near Edcouch, Texas, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 16:10
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Edcouch, Texas, United States
- Nearest airport
- Skalitsky Airport (6TE0)
- Coordinates
- 26.2903, -97.9494
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT502
- Registration
- N334LA
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2019
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Sun Valley Dusting Company
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN21LA322
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s inadequate compensation for a gusting wind during takeoff.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot stated that shortly after liftoff a wind gust decreased the airplane’s climb performance, which resulted in the main landing gear contacting a 10 ft tall sugarcane crop off the end of the runway. The airplane continued to descend into the field where it landed hard on the right main landing gear and came to rest in a nose down attitude. The right wing sustained substantial damage during the accident. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation during the flight.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Air Tractor AT502 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Feb 2021 | Air Tractor AT502 | Letsatsi Game Lodge, South Africa | - | Unknown | - |
| 29 Jun 2020 | Air Tractor AT502 | South Bay, Florida, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 Jul 2022 | Air Tractor AT502 | Ute, Iowa, United States | Midwest Custom Ag Aviation | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Sep 2022 | Air Tractor AT502 | Camrose, Canada | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 10 Jul 2020 | Air Tractor AT502 | Dalhart, Texas, United States | Bailey Flying Service Inc. | No injuries | - |
| 19 Sep 2022 | Air Tractor AT502 | Chinchilla, Australia | - | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Mar 2021 | Piper PA 46-350P | Port Aransas, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 20 Mar 2021 | Cameron Balloons Z-90 | Celina, Texas, United States | RET Richard V | No injuries | - |
| 2 Oct 2021 | Beechcraft B23 | Lamesa, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 2 Oct 2021 | Boeing PT-17 | Winnie, Texas, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |
| 24 Mar 2021 | Cessna 207A | Laredo, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 4 Jul 2021 | Focke-Wulf FWP-149D | Killeen, Texas, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |