Air Tractor AT-502B N6112D

Summary

On 15 May 2008 at about 00:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B registered N6112D, operated by Rice AG Service, was involved in an accident near Wheatley, Arkansas, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 May 2008 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Wheatley, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

34.9102, -91.0996

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502B

Registration

N6112D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Rice AG Service

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wheatley → Wheatley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW08LA143

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed, resulting in an inadvertent low-altitude aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was making an aerial application run when the airplane stalled and impacted the terrain in a nose-low attitude. A witness reported seeing the airplane make its spray runs and; “nothing [appeared] out of the ordinary.” The witness, who had his back to the airplane, continued with his work then he heard a loud “pop”. As he turned around, he believed he saw a large spray of water when the airplane hit standing water. The witness also reported that the airplane’s engine noise stopped immediately, when he heard the “pop”. An examination of the engine found that the engine was producing mid-to-high power at the time of impact. Additionally, the flap jackscrew was found extended; which corresponded to a full flaps down setting. The airframe manufacturer noted that there is not an approved procedure for making application turns with flaps fully extended. The commercial pilot had a total of 356 flight-hours, of which about 70-hours were in the accident airplane. Examination of the airplane and engine did not disclose any evidence of a mechanical malfunction.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.