Air Tractor AT-802A accident near Austin, NV
On August 20, 2009, an Air Tractor AT-802A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Austin, NV. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 20, 2009
- Place
- Austin, NV
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-802A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 39.814°N, 117.579°W
- NTSB ID
- 20090820X10204
Official records · WPR09GA407
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 20, 2009, at 1543 Pacific daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-802A, single-engine Air Tanker (SEAT) N807MA, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) designation T-857, collided with rising terrain during an attempted fire retardant drop at the Hoyt Fire, in the Clan Alpine Mountains, near Austin, Nevada. Minuteman Aerial Application, Inc., owned the airplane. The BLM, U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), was operating the restricted category airplane as a public-use fire suppression flight. The pilot, the sole occupant, was killed. The airplane was substantially damaged by impact forces. The flight departed Battle Mountain Airport, Battle Mountain, Nevada, at 1513. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a BLM flight plan had been filed. The BLM was utilizing an Airborne Aerial Supervision Module (ASM), which was an aircraft operated by a supervisor controlling the air assets working on the fire. The supervisor instructed the tankers on where to drop fire retardant. The pilot was assigned the task of dropping fire retardant onto a saddle area located between the intersection of two perpendicular ridgelines, thereby joining the retardant coverage of two previous drops. Multiple witnesses located both on the ground, and in the air, observed the accident airplane approach the designated drop area from the south. Their accounts describe the airplane approaching the drop area, but not releasing its load of retardant. Shortly thereafter, the airplane made contact with rising terrain within the saddle. The airplane continued uphill, while still in contact
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain a stabilized approach prior to the retardant drop and his subsequent failure to release the retardant load, resulting in a stall/mush and collision with terrain.
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Browse: Nevada · 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.
