Air Tractor Inc AT-502A accident near Clayton, LA
On May 18, 2021, an Air Tractor Inc AT-502A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Clayton, LA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 18, 2021
- Place
- Clayton, LA
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor Inc AT-502A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 31.801°N, 91.587°W
- NTSB ID
- 20210518103103
Official records · CEN21LA223
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 18, 2021, about 1325 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502A airplane, N887LA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Clayton, Louisiana. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The operator stated that the pilot had already completed several aerial application flights and was in the process of spraying product on a field when the accident happened. Witnesses stated that the airplane had just completed a spray pass and was in the process of turning around. During the turn, the airplane pitched up and rolled left into a steep bank so that the wings were almost upside down. One witness stated that it looked like the pilot, “didn’t pull out of a barrel roll.” The airplane “fell out of the sky” and impacted the ground inverted oriented on a southeast heading. Data was extracted from the airplane’s SatLoc GPS, which revealed most of the accident flight, except for the last approximately 30 seconds, which was likely not recorded due to the unit’s recording latency. The data showed that the airplane completed several spray passes over the target field and did not reveal any anomalies. WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONA postaccident examination revealed ground impact marks from the outline of the wings, as the airplane impacted the ground in a wings-level, inverted attitude. The wing fuel tanks were found breached, and a significant amount of fuel was noted in the dirt under the airplane. The propeller blades were twisted and bent an
Probable cause
The pilot’s loss of airplane control resulting in an aerodynamic stall while executing a steep turnaround during an aerial application flight.
More accidents in LA
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Browse: Louisiana · 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.
