Air Tractor AT-502B N5075P

Summary

On 10 November 2005 at about 14:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B registered N5075P, operated by A&G Flying Service, was involved in an accident near Osceola, 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

10 November 2005 at 14:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Osceola, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

35.6992, -89.9894

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502B

Registration

N5075P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

A&G Flying Service

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Classic Airport → Oceola

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06CA031

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane while on final approach. A contributing factor was the gusty winds.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 16,500-hour commercial pilot was repositioning the tailwheel equipped agricultural airplane to another airstrip located approximately 10 minutes away from his home base. Prior to his departure from home base the pilot reported the winds were from the north at 5 to 6 mph. As the pilot entered the traffic pattern for the landing airstrip on a southbound downwind leg, he noticed that the winds were still from the north; however, they were now gusting from 10 to 15 knots. The pilot, who was very familiar with the airstrip, reported that when landing to the north, he prefers making a long final approach to avoid all obstacles while making a short field landing to avoid rolling over a gravel covered portion of the airstrip. The pilot stated that he lined-up and touched down slightly west of the centerline, and as the aircraft crossed over the south bank of a 30 to 40 foot wide ditch running short of runway, the aircraft encountered a 'large wind gust." The pilot attempted to add power to compensate; however, the turbine engine took too long to spool up. The airplane impacted the north bank of the ditch and both main landing gears separated from the airframe. The airplane came to stop on a northwesterly heading after sliding for 30 to 40 feet. The pilot reported having accumulated a total of 385 hours in the same make and model, with about 285 hours in the preceding 90 days.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.