Air Tractor AT802 accident near Elgin, NV
On July 30, 2020, an Air Tractor AT802 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Elgin, NV. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 30, 2020
- Place
- Elgin, NV
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT802 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.362°N, 114.566°W
- NTSB ID
- 20200730X91205
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 30, 2020, about 1256 Pacific daylight time (PDT), two Air Tractor AT-802A airplanes, N8510M and N1558W, were destroyed when they were involved in an accident near Elgin, Nevada. The pilots of both airplanes were fatally injured. The airplanes were operated as public aircraft firefighting flights. The airplanes were operating as single engine airtankers (SEATs) under contract to the US Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the time of the accident. The pilots were dispatched to a wildland fire about 0900 for their first drop. Both SEAT airplanes were extending a fire retardant line as part of fire suppression efforts. They completed two uneventful flights in the fire traffic area (FTA) before the accident flight. Automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data showed that the airplanes departed Mesquite, Nevada, as a flight of two about 1225 to deploy their third load of fire retardant. The ADS-B data showed that N8510M was in lead and N1558W was in trail as they flew northeast toward the FTA in a climb. An air attack airplane was providing aerial reconnaissance of the fire environment at 10,000 ft in the FTA while a lead plane was operating about 7,500 ft mean sea level (msl), supporting air attack by leading airtankers to the retardant line. When the SEATs were about 12 nm from the FTA, they checked in with air attack who briefed them and cleared them into the FTA. The pilot of the lead plane planned to join up with N8510M and N1558W on the downwind leg of the deployment pattern at 6,000 ft msl. The exit proce
Probable cause
The trailing pilot’s failure to maintain separation from the lead airplane during a fire retardant deployment flight, which resulted in the trailing airplane flying through a plume of retardant and the trailing pilot’s subsequent loss of visibility that led to a collision with the lead airplane.
More accidents in NV
- Cessna 425, Jan 12, 1992
- Cessna TU206G, Dec 7, 1986
- Beech A36TC, Dec 25, 2003
- Cessna T21OL, Mar 1, 1982
- Pilatus PC-12/45, Feb 25, 2023
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.
