Air Tractor AT-502B N90805

Summary

On 4 October 2011 at about 11:15 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B registered N90805, operated by Southeastern Aerial Crop Service Inc, was involved in an accident near Fort Pierce, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 October 2011 at 11:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Pierce, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Southeastern Airport (FD30)

Coordinates

27.4114, -80.5261

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502B

Registration

N90805

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Southeastern Aerial Crop Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Fort Pierce → Fort Pierce

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dawn

NTSB number

ERA12CA003

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's delayed decision to abort the takeoff.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot taxied the airplane to the end of the runway with the flaps set to three-fourths in preparation for takeoff. As the airplane accelerated down the runway, the tail of the airplane did not rise as the pilot expected, so he extended the flaps fully. As the airplane reached the end of the runway, the pilot believed that the airplane "did not want to fly." He elaborated that, while the engine instruments indicated no abnormalities, the engine was not providing the amount of power he expected and that the airplane's performance was sluggish. He attempted to jettison the loaded chemical to reduce the airplane's weight, but when he attempted to actuate the load-jettison handle, it would not move. As the airplane approached tall trees beyond the end of the runway and with the airplane nearing a stalled condition, the pilot attempted to land the airplane in an agricultural field ahead. During the landing, the airplane nosed over, resulting in substantial damage to the nose, empennage, and left wing. A postaccident examination found no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the engine and that the load jettison mechanism functioned normally. An accurate determination of the airplane's weight at the time of the accident could not be calculated due to variances in the values provided by the pilot and the operator.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.