Air Tractor AT-502B N5005G

Summary

On 24 June 2008 at about 00:10 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B registered N5005G, operated by Midwest Spray Service, was involved in an accident near Bethany, Missouri, 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

24 June 2008 at 00:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Bethany, Missouri, United States

Nearest airport

Bethany Memorial Airport (75K)

Coordinates

40.2767, -94.0072

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502B

Registration

N5005G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Midwest Spray Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Bethany → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Not Reported

NTSB number

DFW08LA167

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to take off with a known deficiency.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that another pilot believed the accident airplane's engine was not responding properly, so the commercial pilot decided to fly the airplane. After loading approximately 430 gallons of applicant, the pilot began his takeoff roll. During the takeoff roll, and with 1/4 runway remaining, the engine began "rolling back." The pilot raised the nose of the airplane at the departure end and cleared the airfield fence before settling back to the ground. The airplane continued to travel through a field towards a residence when the engine momentarily regained power. The airplane collided with a garage and a residence, rolled inverted and slid 50 yards. An examination of the engine and fuel control unit (FCU) bellow did not reveal any anomalies. The FCU was impact damaged and could not be tested. Testing failed to determine the reason for the loss of engine power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.