Air Tractor AT-502 N9082C

Summary

On 15 August 2023 at about 15:45 local time, a Air Tractor AT-502 registered N9082C, operated by Dakota Air Spray, was involved in an accident near Great Bend, North Dakota, 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

15 August 2023 at 15:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Great Bend, North Dakota, United States

Coordinates

46.1520, -96.7640

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-502

Registration

N9082C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1992

Engines

1

Operator

Dakota Air Spray

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wahpeton → Wahpeton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN23LA377

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s hard landing on a road and subsequent loss of control, resulting in the airplane impacting a ditch.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he had completed an aerial application with the airplane and was in a turn when the engine lost power. The pilot said he advanced the power lever to full but there was no engine response. The pilot attempted a forced landing on a nearby county road. The airplane landed hard on the road surface, bounced back in the air and floated some distance before settling back on the road. The airplane then veered off the road, went through a ditch, and came to rest in an adjacent farm field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left and right tubular clusters where the main landing gear attach. The pilot later reported that, after reviewing speed and altitude data from one of the airplane’s track logs, his recollection of the event did not match what the data showed. He stated that, “The log shows no loss of airspeed that would indicate a loss of power before the initial impact with the ground.” He went on to state that he was no longer confident that his original recollection that there was a power loss was accurate and that this incident was likely caused by pilot error.  An examination of the airplane’s fuel control unit (FCU) and fuel pump showed black material in the vicinity of the Py orifice inlet. The manufacturer identified the material as soft debris similar to fluorocarbon and most likely from the packing (O-ring) used on the P3 air inlet fitting. The debris’ size and location did not completely obstruct the inlet and would have allowed for air passage into the FCU, hence not hindering its operability. A bench test of the fuel control unit and fuel pump showed the unit and pump performed normally. No other preaccident failures or malfunctions with the airplane were found that would have precluded normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.