Air Tractor AT802 N8503W
27 July 2023 · Aberdeen, South Dakota, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 27 July 2023 at about 19:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT802 registered N8503W, operated by Pioneer Agviation 2 LLC, was involved in an accident near Aberdeen, South Dakota, 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 19:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Aberdeen, South Dakota, United States
- Nearest airport
- Aberdeen Rgnl (ABR)
- Coordinates
- 45.4414, -98.4265
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT802
- Registration
- N8503W
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2002
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Pioneer Agviation 2 LLC
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN23LA334
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while taxiing with a quartering tailwind, which resulted in a ground loop.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane was taxiing from the loading ramp to runway 35 for his third aerial application flight of the day. As the airplane taxied, it did not respond to the pilot’s inputs and departed the taxiway before it ground looped. During the ground loop, the right main landing gear collapsed and the right wing impacted the surface which resulted in substantial damage. Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. At the time of the accident, the pilot was taxiing the airplane to the south with wind from 050° at 12 kts, resulting in about a 6 kt tailwind component and a 10 kt left crosswind component. It is likely that the pilot lost directional control of the airplane when taxiing with a quartering tailwind.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Air Tractor AT802 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 Jun 2023 | Air Tractor AT802 | Ngodwana, South Africa | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 20 Jun 2023 | Air Tractor AT802 | Wellington, Florida, United States | Roma Air Corp | No injuries | - |
| 31 Dec 2022 | Air Tractor AT802 | Galvarino, Chile | SAAMA AVIACION SpAc | Unknown | - |
| 13 Jul 2024 | Air Tractor AT802 | Cuba, Kentucky, United States | Oops LLC | Fatal | 1 |
| 19 Aug 2024 | Air Tractor AT802 | La Riola, Argentina | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 11 Jul 2021 | Air Tractor AT802 | Newell, Iowa, United States | Midwest Custom Ag Aviation | No injuries | - |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 Dec 2023 | Piper PA-18A 150 | Vermillion, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 12 Jul 2023 | Arbc Inc Dba Lindstrand 260A | Custer, South Dakota, United States | Flying Circus Inc | Serious injuries | - |
| 23 Oct 2023 | Piper PA 46-350P | Pierre, South Dakota, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 18 Jun 2023 | Air Tractor AT-502 | Sturgis, South Dakota, United States | Ascend AG Inc | No injuries | - |
| 4 May 2023 | Cessna 172S | Brookings, South Dakota, United States | South Dakota State University | No injuries | - |
| 10 Jun 2022 | Cessna 305 | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | - | Minor injuries | - |