# Accident 19980313003349A: Airtrc AT402A, Moreland, ID, March 13, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 13, 1998, 14:00 local time
- Place: Moreland, ID
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.2195° N, 112.4378° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Moreland, ID, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.2195&lon=-112.4378&mi=10
- Aircraft: N50963, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N50963-1998-10-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-402A (registry code 0390206, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-402a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT402A
- Reported engine: PWA PT6A11AG
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 9,808 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA98LA045](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA045) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980313003349A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

IMPACTED GROUND INVERTED. INDICATES A STALL SPIN TYPE. NO DETAILS. ENGINES AT IDLE. (.4)THE (PIC) PILOT-IN-COMMAND (PROSPECTIVE BUYER) WAS GIVEN AN ORAL CHECKOUT AND TRAINING BY A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE AIRCRAFT SALES DISTRIBUTOR AND THEN HE DEPARTED ON HIS FIRST FLIGHT.  HE HAD NEVER FLOWN THIS MAKE/MODEL, AND REPORTEDLY HAD NO TURBINE/TURBO-PROP EXPERIENCE. HE HAD ACCUMULATED OVER 600 HOURS IN A RECIPROCATING POWERED CROP DUSTER WITH SIMILAR FLIGHT CHARACTERISTICS.  SEVERAL WITNESSES REPORTED OBSERVING THE AIRCRAFT IN A SPIN, AND ON-SITE EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED IN A SLIGHT NOSE/RIGHT WING LOW, INVERTED ATTITUDE WITH NO FORWARD MOMENTUM. NO WITNESSES OBSERVED THE ENTRY MANEUVER THAT LED TO THE INVERTED SPIN. THE ENGINE WAS DISASSEMBLED AND NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL MALFUNCTION WAS FOUND. THE WEIGHT AND CENTER OF GRAVITY WAS WITHIN LIMITS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.       (-23)AIRCRAFT IMPACTED GROUND INVERTED.  NO INFLIGHT FAILURE, NO FIRE.  POWERPLANT FUNCTIONING, BUT AT IDLE POWER.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA98LA045](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA045), Mar 13, 1998: Air Tractor AT-402A (N50963), Moreland, ID, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control resulting in an inadvertent stall/spin. A factor was his lack of familiarity in the make/model.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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