Air Tractor AT-502 N4533H

Summary

On 28 May 1999 at about 17:50 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502 registered N4533H, operated by Michael A. Burnette, was involved in an accident near Cherry Valley, Arkansas, 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

28 May 1999 at 17:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Cherry Valley, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

35.3995, -90.7500

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502

Registration

N4533H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Michael A. Burnette

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW99LA152

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadvertent stall due to his evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with a truck on the runway. A factor was the runway incursion by the truck.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The agricultural airplane stalled and impacted terrain after the pilot prematurely pulled the airplane off the ground during the takeoff roll to avoid colliding with a truck that entered the airstrip. The pilot reported that the elevated dirt airstrip was also used as an access road. The hopper was filled with a load of rice seed to be dispensed on a nearby field, and the airplane had been topped off with fuel. The airplane's takeoff ground roll for the previous flight had been much shorter due to the lighter load and cooler temperature. The 14,232-hour pilot reported that soon after the tail wheel came off the ground, he observed a white pickup entering the airstrip/road. The driver of the pickup truck, who was also the farmer whose fields were being seeded, had observed previous takeoffs, but was not aware of how the airplane was loaded for this flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.