Air Tractor AT402 N1532H

Summary

On 17 June 2020 at about 23:00 local time, a Air Tractor AT402 registered N1532H, operated by Farm Brothers Flyers A LLC, was involved in an accident near Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 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

17 June 2020 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

34.2067, -91.8739

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT402

Registration

N1532H

Category

Airplane

Year built

2019

Engines

1

Operator

Farm Brothers Flyers A LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pine Bluff → Pine Bluff

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20LA234

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which led to an aerodynamic stall and a loss of airplane control. Contributing was a partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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 aerial application flight, a partial loss of engine power occurred while he was performing the first climbing turn to reverse course. The airplane subsequently descended and impacted terrain in a nearvertical attitude. Postaccident examination of the engine and its components revealed no preimpact anomalies. The reason for the partial loss of engine power could not be determined with the available evidence for this accident investigation. Given the airplane’s near-vertical descent, it is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the climbing turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and a loss of airplane control from which the pilot was unable to recover.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.