# Accident 19990514022279A: Airtrc AT301, Brownwood, TX, May 14, 1999

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 14, 1999
- Place: Brownwood, TX
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Location: 31.7129° N, 98.9771° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Brownwood, TX, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.7129&lon=-98.9771&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4329S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4329S-2000-08-05) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-301 (registry code 0390103, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-301) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT301
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW99LA140](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA140) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990514022279A

## Narrative

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

(.19) ON MAY 14, 1999, AT 1300 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AIR TRACTOR AT-301, AGRICULTURAL AIRPLANE, N4329S, WAS DESTROYED BY A POST-CRASH FIRE AFTER IT IMPACTED TREES DURING THE TAKEOFF/INITIAL CLIMB NEAR BROWNWOOD, TEXAS.  THE AIRCRAFT WAS OWNED AND OPERATED BY AG-AIR EQUIPMENT, INC., OF WICHITA FALLS, TEXAS.  THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT, RECEIVED MINOR INJURIES.  VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED FOR THE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR) PART 137 AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT AND A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED.  THE LOCAL FLIGHT WAS ORIGINATING AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.  ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, HE WAS PREPARING TO FLY THE AIRPLANE FROM THE "MUDDY" GRASS STRIP.  THE AIRPLANE WAS LOADED WITH 300 GALLONS OF ZINC SULPHATE FOR THE 21ST AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT OF THE DAY.  THE PILOT STATED THAT HE INADVERTENTLY LEFT THE FLAPS IN THE FULLY RETRACTED POSITION FOR DEPARTURE.  DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL THE AIRPLANE ENCOUNTERED A "MUDDY PATCH," AND THE AIRPLANE DECELERATED.  THE AIRPLANE ATTAINED A HEIGHT OF APPROXIMATELY 6 FEET AGL AND "FELT LIKE IT WOULDN'T CLIMB," PRIOR TO IMPACTING A TREE.  SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE GROUND AND CAME TO REST INVERTED.  A POS  CRASH FIRE ERUPTED WHICH CONSUMED THE AIRPLANE. THE PILOT ADDED THAT THE TEMPERATURE WAS IN THE 70'S WITH A "LIGHT WIND" OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST. (-23)ON MAY 5, 1999, AT 1210 CDT, A AIRTRACTOR AT-301, N4329S, OWNED BY AG-AIR EQUIPMENT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^                    WAS DESTROYED BY A POST-CRASH FIRE AFTER IT IMPACTED TREES DURING THE TAKE OFF/INITIAL CLIMB NEAR BROWNWOOD, TEXAS, UNDER VFR CONDITION.  THE PILOT RECEIVED MINOR INJURES AND HOLDS A COMMERICAL PILOT CERTIFICATE ^PRIVACY DATA OMI^.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT WICHITA FALLS AIRPORT, TEXAS AT 1000.

## 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 FTW99LA140](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW99LA140), May 14, 1999: Air Tractor AT-301 (N4329S), Brownwood, TX, destroyed. Probable cause: The failure of the pilot-in-command to use the manufacturer's published checklist and extend the flaps prior to takeoff. A factor was the pilot's fatigued physiological condition as a result of…

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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