Air Tractor AT-400 N23720

Summary

On 23 August 2011 at about 23:53 local time, a Air Tractor AT-400 registered N23720, operated by D-Lux Spray Service, LLC, was involved in an accident near Monango, North Dakota, 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

23 August 2011 at 23:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Monango, North Dakota, United States

Coordinates

46.1836, -98.5078

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-400

Registration

N23720

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

D-Lux Spray Service, LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Edgeley → Edgeley

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN11LA593

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot did not maintain adequate separation from a tree during the aerial-application flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he remembered completing a majority of his spray runs during the aerial-application flight and was finishing along the field's edge when the accident occurred. However, he had no recollection of the airplane colliding with the trees or terrain. Global positioning system data revealed that the airplane had descended from about 300 feet above ground level (agl) to less than 100 feet agl into a sparsely wooded area during the last 15 seconds of the flight. A postaccident examination established that the airplane's right wingtip contacted a tree before the airplane collided with terrain. The examination did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The presence of fuel throughout the engine's fuel system and the rotational damage sustained by several engine components was consistent with a sudden stoppage of an operating engine during impact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.