Air Tractor AT-402B N6128W

Summary

On 23 June 1997 at about 21:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-402B registered N6128W was involved in an accident near Ridgely, Tennessee, 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

23 June 1997 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Ridgely, Tennessee, United States

Nearest airport

Dewdrop Strip (PVT)

Coordinates

36.2597, -89.4791

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-402B

Registration

N6128W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL97LA088

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate preflight planning in that he failed to account for the high temperature and high density altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control. Factors were the tall crops and the ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, after taking off from the grass strip, for the fourteenth or fifteenth time that day, with the same load and fuel quantity, he noticed that, after lift off, the 'airplane did not seem to accelerate like normal and began to sink'. He stated he then attempted to dump the 3100 pounds of ammonium nitrate he was carrying. Subsequently, after the doors opened, the airplane stalled, and the airplane collided with the ground; a corn field with plants about six feet tall. The pilot stated that 'before he could reach the power lever, the airplane started turning slightly to the right, and then the left landing gear failed'. No mechanical problems were reported by the pilot. The pilot stated that he believed the light and variable wind and the high temperature contributed to the failure of the airplane to climb. The ambient conditions, at the time of the accident, were the high temperature, high density altitude, and high gross weight of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.