Air Tractor AT502 accident near Whiteface, TX
On June 14, 2024, an Air Tractor AT502 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Whiteface, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- June 14, 2024
- Place
- Whiteface, TX
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT502 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 33.636°N, 102.668°W
- NTSB ID
- 20240614194470
Official records · CEN24FA221
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn June 14, 2024, about 0840 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502B airplane, N2032K, and another Air Tractor AT-502B airplane, N8525V, were substantially damaged when they were involved in a midair collision near Whiteface, Texas. The pilot of N2032K was seriously injured, and the pilot of N8525V was fatally injured. Both airplanes were operated as Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flights. Both airplanes were operated by the same operator and the pilots were conducting aerial application operations in a cotton field. The pilot of N2032K reported that he planned to spray the corners of the field and that N8525V planned to spray the center circle. He reported that two airplanes spraying adjacent fields at the same time was rare and that they had not previously conducted operations with two airplanes spraying the same field at the same time. The pilot of N2032K reported that, after he had already begun product application, he and the pilot of N8525V coordinated a plan in which N2032K would be the high airplane and N8525V would be the low airplane. He reported that N2032K’s push-to-talk switch was inoperative, so the pilots communicated using a wireless Bluetooth and cellphone connection. The pilot of N2032K reported that he was making an eastbound spray pass and that N8525V was making a southbound pass when he saw N8525V begin to climb into his flightpath. He reported that he banked to the right to avoid the collision, but was unsuccessful in doing so. N2032K was equipped with a Satloc Falcon GPS guidance system. N2032K’
Probable cause
Both pilot’s failure to see and avoid the other airplane during simultaneous aerial application operations over the same area. Contributing to the accident was the operator’s poor decision to assign the pilots to conduct separate aerial application operations in the same area.
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Browse: Texas · 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.
