Air Tractor AT-401 N4531M

Summary

On 8 October 1998 at about 13:20 local time, a Air Tractor AT-401 registered N4531M was involved in an accident near Newellton, 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

8 October 1998 at 13:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Newellton, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

32.0703, -91.2304

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-401

Registration

N4531M

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

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW99FA004

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during an inadvertent entry into adverse weather conditions. A related factor was the fog.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The agricultural airplane, flown by the non-instrument rated commercial pilot, descended into a lake following a loss of control during an inadvertent entry into adverse weather conditions. A 'very dense' fog bank extending from the ground to 300 to 400 feet agl moved rapidly into the area. The National Weather Service reported that throughout northeastern Louisiana, the weather conditions were: winds calm to 3 knots from the north, 1/4 statute mile visibility in fog, ceiling of 100 feet, and a temperature dewpoint spread of 2 degrees Celsius. The pilot had accumulated over 20,000 hours of aerial application flying including over 4,000 hours in the accident aircraft. The aircraft was not equipped for flight into instrument meteorological conditions. No pre-impact anomalies were found with the airframe or the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.