Air Tractor AT 502 N700LA

Summary

On 22 June 2017 at about 22:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT 502 registered N700LA, operated by King AG Aviation Inc., was involved in an accident near Portales, New Mexico, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 June 2017 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Portales, New Mexico, United States

Coordinates

34.2633, -103.3531

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT 502

Registration

N700LA

Category

Airplane

Year built

2004

Engines

1

Operator

King AG Aviation Inc.

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sudan → Sudan

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA360

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to fly the airplane under transmission lines while maneuvering at low altitude in high-density altitude conditions, which resulted in subsequent collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during an agricultural application flight and while maneuvering at the destination field in a left turn, he realized that the airplane was not going to be able to climb over transmission lines in his flightpath. He added that he lowered the nose to fly under the transmission lines, but the "airspeed was still too low," and the airplane impacted an embankment, slid across the ground for about 100 ft, and nosed over. The airplane was destroyed by the impact and a postcrash fire. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. An automated weather observation station 10 nautical miles north of the accident reported, about 5 minutes before the accident, calm wind, temperature 102°F (39°C), dewpoint 43°F (6°C), and barometric setting of 29.77 inches of mercury. The calculated density altitude was 8,200 ft. According to the Federal Aviation Administration Koch Chart, considering the surrounding temperature and field elevation, the airplane would have likely experienced a 65% decrease in the normal climb rate.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.