Air Tractor AT-401 N6024M

Summary

On 6 December 2007 at about 18:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-401 registered N6024M, operated by Soilserv Inc, was involved in an accident near Soledad, California, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 December 2007 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Soledad, California, United States

Coordinates

36.3742, -121.4142

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-401

Registration

N6024M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Soilserv Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

King City → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX08CA034

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain an adequate clearance from mountainous terrain while maneuvering during an aerial application mission. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's diverted attention inside the cockpit.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was seeding an area located adjacent to mountainous terrain. Prior to making the first pass, he had flown a reconnaissance flight to inspect the area. After completion of the first pass as he was maneuvering in a turn back towards the field, he was checking the seeding pattern and making adjustments to the GPS system inside the cockpit. When he checked the gauges again, he realized that the airplane had lost airspeed and rolled out to a wings level configuration to regain the lost airspeed. The airplane was headed towards rising terrain. He jettisoned the remaining seed and made a controlled collision with terrain in a ravine. The airplane was destroyed in a post impact fire. He reported that he had preoccupied himself with less important flight duties at a critical time during the flight. The pilot reported no mechanical problems that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.