Air Tractor AT-602 accident near Fort Carson, CO

On April 16, 2008, an Air Tractor AT-602 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fort Carson, CO. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

April 16, 2008

Place

Fort Carson, CO

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-602 · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

38.635°N, 104.864°W

NTSB ID

20080423X00534

Official records · DEN08GA076

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On April 15, 2008, approximately 1815 mountain daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-602 single-engine air tanker (SEAT) airplane, N602AA, was destroyed when it impacted terrain while maneuvering near Fort Carson, Colorado. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated by the Department of Defense (DOD), Fort Carson, Colorado, for public use firefighting missions, and registered to Aero-Applicators, Inc., Sterling, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a company flight plan was filed. The flight originated from Mertens Airport (3CO2), a private airstrip, in Sterling, Colorado, at 1639. On April 14, 2008, a 9,800-acre wildfire, known as the Training Area 25 (TA25) wildfire, originated on the Fort Carson military reservation. In order to coordinate the fire suppression and rescue efforts, a unified command was in place with DOD, United States Forest Service (USFS), El Paso County, and the City of Colorado Springs, Colorado, personnel. On April 15th, two Aero-Applicators, Inc., aircraft were ordered by the DOD, Fort Carson, to support the TA25 wildfire. The aircraft were contracted directly to the DOD by the use of a local procurement agreement that the Colorado State Forest Service had with the vendor, Aero-Applicators, Inc. The interagency dispatch system provided contact information between the vendor and DOD, and coordinated flight following of the aircraft from the vendor’s airfield directly to the fire. Aero-Applicators Inc. Pilot’s Statement According to the pilot of the other Aero-A

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control following the jettison of the load during an aerial fire flighting mission, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and impact with terrain. Contributing to the accident were the improperly configured aircraft for the flight, the gusty wind conditions, and the pressure to complete the mission.

More accidents in CO

• Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-14, Nov 15, 1987
• Grumman Gulfstream III, Mar 30, 2001
• Beech 1900, Jan 28, 2026
• Douglas DC3, Mar 9, 2019
• Piper PA-31-350, Dec 3, 2014

Browse: Colorado · Air Tractor aircraft

See it on the map

Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.