Air Tractor AT-402B N5085Q

Summary

On 10 June 2010 at about 22:25 local time, a Air Tractor AT-402B registered N5085Q, operated by Williamsburg Air Service Inc, was involved in an accident near Alcolu, South Carolina, 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 June 2010 at 22:25

Classification

Accident

Location

Alcolu, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

33.8556, -80.2072

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-402B

Registration

N5085Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Williamsburg Air Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Coker Field → Coker Field

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10CA309

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a tree. Contributing to the accident was the sunglare.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he was conducting an aerial application flight over a field. His vision was obstructed by glare from the sun, and he did not see a dead tree in front of the airplane until “it was too late.” The airplane impacted the tree and descended into the field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot reported that there were no pre-accident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane. He further reported about 14,000 hours of total flight experience, which included 4,700 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.