Air Tractor AT602 accident near David City, NE
On July 28, 2016, an Air Tractor AT602 (airplane) was involved in an accident near David City, NE. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- July 28, 2016
- Place
- David City, NE
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT602 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.295°N, 97.103°W
- NTSB ID
- 20160728X22738
Official records · CEN16LA291
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On July 28, 2016, about 1530 central daylight time (CDT), an Air Tractor AT-602, N2033N, impacted A corn field 3 miles northeast of David City, Nebraska. The pilot, the sole occupant on board, was fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to Rayne Aviation, LLC, and operated by Emrich Aerial Spraying, LLC, both of Dorchester, Nebraska, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Columbus Municipal Airport (OLU), Columbus, Nebraska, about 1430. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors who were on-scene, the airplane had been spraying Headline® Fungicide (pyraclostrobin – a Group 11 fungicide) on a corn field. The accident site was located 200 feet north of County Road 38 and west of County Road O. There was no fire and there were no witnesses to the accident. The on-scene evidence was consistent with the airplane striking the ground in a right wing slightly low, 60° nose-down attitude. The airplane rebounded about 20 feet from the initial impact point and came to rest upright facing south. Witness marks in the field were consistent with a large sweep of the right wing through the corn crop, consistent with some right wing-down rolling motion at impact. All impact signatures and crop damage were in a northerly direction, and the debris field was small. The aft cockpit wall immediately behind the pilot's seat was deformed. Elevator and rudder con
Probable cause
The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with terrain.
More accidents in NE
- Piper PA-32R-300, Oct 16, 1993
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Browse: Nebraska · 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.
