# Accident 19980319003919A: Airtrc AT502, Mc Gehee, AR, March 19, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 19, 1998, 05:58 local time
- Place: Mc Gehee, AR
- Airport: Mc Gehee Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: KOFG
- Location: 33.6197° N, 91.3901° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.6197&lon=-91.3901&mi=10
- Aircraft: N10035, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N10035-1999-12-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-502 (registry code 0390303, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-502) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT502
- Reported engine: PWA PT6A34
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 14,246 total, 2,024 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA151](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA151) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980319003919A

## Narrative

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

ARCT CRASHED UND UNK CIRC, PILOT SUFFERED FATAL INJ, ACFT WAS DESTROYED. MCGEHEE, AR. (.4)THE INSTRUMENT RATED COMMERCIAL PILOT LOST CONTROL OF THE AGRICULTURAL AIRPLANE WHILE ATTEMPTING TO RETURN TO HIS HOME BASE AIRSTRIP AFTER HEAVY FOG FORMED IN THE EARLY DAWN. PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AT THE ACCIDENT SITE INDICATES THAT THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TREES AND TERRAIN IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE IN A RIGHT TURN, AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED. FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS INSTALLED IN THE 1988 MODEL TURBINE POWERED AIRPLANE AMOUNTED AN ALTIMETER, AN AIRSPEED INDICATOR, AND A SLIP INDICATOR. THERE WERE NO REPORTED EYE WITNESSES TO THE ACCIDENT. EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE AT THE ACCIDENT SITE AND A REVIEW OF THE AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE RECORDS DID NOT DISCLOSE ANY ANOMALIES OR EVIDENCE OF PRE-IMPACT MALFUNCTION THAT COULD HAVE PREVENTED NORMAL OPERATIONS.       (-23) ON MARCH 19, 1998, AT APPROXIMATELY 0600 HOURS LOCAL STANDARD TIME, AN AIR TRACTOR, AT-502 AGRICULTURE AIRPLANE, N10035, CRASHED IN THE VICINITY OF A PRIVATE AGRICULTURE AIRSTRIP APPROXIMATELY TWO MILES TO THE WEST OF MCGEHEE, ARKANSAS. IT WAS STATED BY WITNESSES THAT THE WEATHER AT THE TIME O                                                                F THE CRASH WAS OBSCURED BY FOG WITH APPROXIMATELY 1/8 MILE VISIBILITY. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. NO WEATHER REPORT WAS RETRIEVED FROM THE WEATHER SERVICE. THE PILOT, OWNER/OPERATOR OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS FATALLY INJURED DURING THE CRASH SEQUENCE.

## 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 FTW98FA151](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA151), Mar 19, 1998: Air Tractor AT-502 (N10035), Mcgehee, AR, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent flight into adverse weather conditions resulting in the loss of control due to spatial disorientation. Factors were the fog and low ceiling, and the inadequate flight…

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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