Air Tractor AT-401 N9190B

Summary

On 3 June 2006 at about 13:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-401 registered N9190B was involved in an accident near Victoria, Texas, 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

3 June 2006 at 13:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Victoria, Texas, United States

Coordinates

28.7206, -96.9286

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-401

Registration

N9190B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Victoria → Victoria

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06CA152

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's delay in aborting the takeoff which resulted in an overrun. A contributing factor was the unfavorable wind.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The single-engine agricultural airplane impacted terrain during a takeoff overrun at a private airstrip. The 11,000-hour commercial pilot reported that the hopper was loaded with 250 gallons of cotton defoliant and the airplane had a total of 35 gallons of 100LL aviation fuel on board for the aerial application flight of a nearby cotton field. The pilot stated that a full engine run up was completed prior to taking the runway for a southeast departure. The pilot added that the acceleration appeared normal and the 600-horsepower radial engine was producing full power during the takeoff roll on the 3,200-foot by 130-foot wide gravel airstrip. The pilot added that the tailwheel-equipped airplane was properly configured with the flaps in the takeoff (one-notch down) position. After breaking ground, the airplane climbed to an altitude of 10 to 15 feet above the ground before the airplane settled back on to the runway. The pilot attempted to get the airplane airborne again; however, the spray boom on the left wing collided with corn stalks on the corn field at the departure end of his private airstrip. The airplane came to rest in the upright position about 200 yards beyond the departure end of the airstrip. The aft section of the airplane sustained structural damage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane or the engine at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that the lack of performance by the airplane was due to the calm winds that prevailed that morning. The density altitude was calculated by the investigator-in-charge at 881 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.