Air Tractor AT-502 N9184Q

Summary

On 2 August 2022 at about 16:46 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502 registered N9184Q, operated by McCaleb's Flying Service, was involved in an accident near Cheneyville, Louisiana, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 August 2022 at 16:46

Classification

Accident

Location

Cheneyville, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

30.9872, -92.3058

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502

Registration

N9184Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1993

Engines

1

Operator

McCaleb's Flying Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22FA350

1 person died.

The pilot’s loss of control after exceeding the airplane’s critical angle of attack for reasons that could not be determined.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was performing an aerial application flight in the turboprop-equipped airplane. Data from an onboard GPS and witness statements indicated that the pilot completed a spray pass, entered the airplane into a climbing left turn to about 200 ft, and the airplane rolled and descended steeply to ground contact. Witness statements and video revealed that smoke could be seen briefly emitting from the airplane before impact. Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation, and there was no evidence of pre- or post-impact fire. The observed smoke may have been the result of the pilot inadvertently engaging the smoke button or switch on the bottom portion of the control grip. Although the filament of the “PROP IN BETA RANGE” lightbulb was stretched consistent with being in a ductile state at impact, the power control lever was at or forward of the idle stop and the propeller blade angle was 21°, which was above the mechanical low-pitch stop and well above the beta range. Additionally, there was no evidence of preimpact failure or malfunction of the engine, propeller, constant speed propeller governor including beta valve, or power control lever at the throttle quadrant. The damaged internal engine components, the fractured propeller blades, and the blade bending in the thrust direction and also opposite the direction of rotation, were consistent with the propeller operating with moderate power at impact and at a positive blade angle above the mechanical low-pitch stop. The electrically-operated stall warning horn was inoperative during postaccident electrical testing. It could not be determined whether the stall horn was operative during the accident flight. A plastic bottle found in the cockpit displayed damage on one side that was slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of an adjacent aileron flight control torque tube and much larger than the diameter of an adjacent elevator push rod assembly. It could not be determined from the available evidence if the bottle created any issue or distraction, but it is likely that the pilot would have been able to overcome any interference the bottle could have created with the aileron or elevator flight controls. Based on the available evidence, it is likely that following a spray pass and climbing left turn, the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack for reasons that could not be determined, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control at an altitude too low for recovery.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.