Air Tractor AT-502B N5016P

Summary

On 7 May 2012 at about 19:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B registered N5016P, operated by Independent Dusting Service Inc, was involved in an accident near El Campo, Texas, 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

7 May 2012 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

El Campo, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Private airstrip

Coordinates

29.2708, -96.3264

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502B

Registration

N5016P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Independent Dusting Service Inc

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

El Campo → El Campo

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12CA301

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to rotate early, the airplane’s subsequent inability to climb, and 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

While departing from a private airstrip for an aerial application flight, the pilot rotated the airplane for takeoff early to avoid ground equipment that was located off the end of the runway. However, the pilot stated that he “bled off too much energy too early,” and the airplane settled back onto the runway. The pilot aborted the takeoff, but the airplane was traveling too fast to stop on the runway. The pilot tried to maneuver the airplane to avoid the obstacles, but the airplane collided with the obstacles and terrain, resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.