Air Tractor AT-400 N155HF

Summary

On 2 October 2002 at about 19:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-400 registered N155HF was involved in an accident near Marmaduke, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 October 2002 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Marmaduke, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

35.8319, -90.6461

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-400

Registration

N155HF

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Marmaduke → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03LA004

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A contributing factor was the towering cumulus in all quadrants.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the aerial application flight, two fields were being sprayed from east to the west with a set of power lines running north and south between the fields. The pilot would fly the airplane over the power lines and then descend to spray the field. During the accident swath descent to spray the east field, the airplane struck the ground. The pilot and local authorities reported that the winds were "strong" from the southwest. The weather observation facility, located approximately 22 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, reported the wind from 250 degrees at 4 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, few clouds at 4,000 feet agl and a broken ceiling at 5,500 feet agl, temperature 31 degrees Celsius, dew point 22 degrees Celsius, an altimeter setting of 30.01 inches of Mercury, and towering cumulus clouds in all quadrants.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.