Air Tractor Inc AT-502 accident near Cheneyville, LA
On August 2, 2022, an Air Tractor Inc AT-502 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cheneyville, LA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- August 2, 2022
- Place
- Cheneyville, LA
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor Inc AT-502 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 30.987°N, 92.306°W
- NTSB ID
- 20220802105644
Official records · ERA22FA350
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 2, 2022, about 1146 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502, N9184Q, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Cheneyville, Louisiana. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The operator reported that the pilot was scheduled that day to disperse 7 loads of urea fertilizer over 2 jobs. He had completed the first job, spraying 5 loads, and was on his last load of the second job at the time of the accident. Data downloaded from the onboard SatLoc G4 GPS receiver revealed that, near the end of the flight, the airplane descended to about 11 ft mean sea level (msl) while flying on an easterly heading at 147 mph groundspeed. The airplane then began a climbing left turn as its airspeed decreased. The last recorded data point, which was approximately 1,300 ft west-southwest of the accident site, indicated that the airplane was about 200 ft msl, on a northeast heading, and the groundspeed was 128 mph. Further review of the GPS data revealed that, during the 24 times the pilot made an initial climbing left turn following a spray pass, the airplane reached an average altitude about 200 ft msl. A 1-minute video of the accident sequence taken from a truck driving south on a nearby highway showed the airplane coming into view on the right side of the screen (west side over the trees that bordered the highway). While climbing, the airplane flew over the southbound lanes then the northbound lanes. The airplane was lost briefly fr
Probable cause
The pilot’s loss of control after exceeding the airplane’s critical angle of attack for reasons that could not be determined.
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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.
