Air Tractor AT-503A accident near Pontiac, IL
On May 5, 2003, an Air Tractor AT-503A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pontiac, IL. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 5, 2003
- Place
- Pontiac, IL
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-503A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 40.928°N, 88.631°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030507X00633
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 5, 2003, at 1414 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-503A, N503D, collided with the terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering during a training flight in Pontiac, Illinois. Both certified flight instructors (CFI) onboard the airplane were fatally injured. The airplane received substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 training flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions without a flight plan. The flight originated from the Pontiac Municipal Airport (PNT), Pontiac, Illinois, approximately one hour prior to the accident. The purpose of the flight was for one CFI to give the other a checkout in a turboprop airplane. Witnesses described seeing the airplane descending to impact with the terrain. One witness stated the airplane was "traveling southbound at which time it turned around and proceeded north. The plane then repeated this movement twice. On the third trip north, the plane began its downward spiral." This witness stated the airplane did a "wing over" type maneuver prior to entering the spiral. When asked to demonstrate what the spiral looked like using a model airplane, the witness showed the airplane in a nose down spin. He stated he believed the airplane was spinning to the right. He stated he heard the engine noise before the airplane started to spin, but he did not hear it once the airplane was in the spin. The witness stated he saw a "light white smoke" coming from both wingtips as the airplane descended. (The fuel overflow vents are located near the wingtips.) This witness was located approximately one mile away
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor associated with the accident was the low altitude maneuver.
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Browse: Illinois · Air Tractor aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
