Air Tractor AT502 accident near Bronson, MI
On August 18, 2018, an Air Tractor AT502 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bronson, MI. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 18, 2018
- Place
- Bronson, MI
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT502 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.843°N, 85.119°W
- NTSB ID
- 20180818X94918
Official records · CEN18FA339
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 18, 2018, about 1727 eastern daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502B airplane, N502RL, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Bronson, Michigan. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The airplane was equipped with an AgNav Guia Platinum P771 agricultural GPS unit. Data for the accident flight indicated that the pilot completed 10 spray passes in an east/west direction over the field, conducting a right turn after each pass. Each 180° turn comprised a climb through the first 90° with about 500-700 ft of altitude gain, followed by a descent through the second 90° turn to align the airplane for the subsequent pass. The airplane's groundspeed during spray passes was between 130 and 135 knots (kts). During the turning maneuvers, the groundspeed would decrease as the airplane reached its peak altitude for each turn. The lowest groundspeed reached during each turn varied between 37 and 63 kts. The final data point at 1727:11 was about 0.1 nautical mile and 320° from the accident site as the airplane was climbing after completing a pass. A witness stated that the airplane was making turns near his location in conjunction with spraying operations in a nearby field. The witness stated that he saw the airplane complete a spray pass to the east then pull up into a near-vertical attitude, after which the airplane became inverted. The airplane then descended straight down and was starting to pull up when it hit the ground. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe pilo
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, an aerodynamic stall, and loss of control at an altitude too low for recovery.
More accidents in MI
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-82, Aug 17, 1987
- Embraer EMB-120RT, Jan 9, 1997
- Beech 65-A90, Jul 31, 1999
- Casa C-212-CC, Mar 4, 1987
- Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-14, Dec 3, 1990
Browse: Michigan · 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.
