# Accident 20010603010489A: Air Tractor AT-402B, Mount Veron, SD, June 3, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 3, 2001, 08:23 local time
- Place: Mount Veron, SD
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Location: 43.7095° N, 98.2596° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.7095&lon=-98.2596&mi=10
- Aircraft: N484WB, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N484WB-2013-08-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-402B (registry code 0390208, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-402b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52034, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI01LA151](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA151) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010603010489A

## Narrative

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

(-23)ON JUNE 3, 2001, AT 0832 CDST, N484WB, AIR TRACTOR MODEL 402B, FLOWN BY ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED CRAHSED 4.5 MILES NE OF MOUNT VERON, SD. THE AIRCRAFT WAS BEING OPERATED UNDER FAR 137 WHILE PERFORMING AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS.  THE PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED.                                        (.19)ON JUNE 3, 2001, AT APPROXIMATELY 0832 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AIR TRACTOR, AT-402B, N484WB, OPERATED BY A COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS DESTROYED WHEN DURING A MANEUVER, IT IMPACTED THE TERRAIN 4.5 MILES NORTHEAST OF MT. VERNON, SOUTH DAKOTA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 137. THERE WAS NO FLIGHT PLAN ON FILE. THE PILOT SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES. THE LOCAL FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT MITCHELL, SOUTH DAKOTA. A WITNESS IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE SAID HE HEARD THE AIRPLANE IN THE AREA AT APPROXIMATELY 0830. THE WITNESS SAID THAT THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE SOUNDED OKAY, THEN HE HEARD A THUMP. A FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION INSPECTOR EXAMINED THE AIRPLANE AT THE ACCIDENT SITE. ON ARRIVAL, THE INSPECTOR FOUND THE AIRPLANE IN A GRASS FIELD APPROXIMATELY 50 YARDS SOUTH O F AN EAST-WEST RUNNING LINE OF TREES. THE FRONT OF THE AIRPLANE, THE PROPELLER, AND THE ENGINE, WERE BURIED IN THE GROUND. IMPRESSIONS IN THE GROUND CORRESPONDED WITH WHERE THE LEADING EDGES OF BOTH WINGS CAME TO REST. AN ARC-SHAPED SLASH IN THE GROUND WAS OBSERVED IN THE AREA AROUND WHERE THE ENGINE AND COWLING HAD IMPACTED THE GROUND. THE PROPELLER BLADES WERE BURIED IN THE GROUND SO THAT ONLY THE BLADE TIPS WERE VISIBLE. THE BLADES WERE CURLED AFT AT THE TIPS. ON REMOVAL OF THE AIRPLANE FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE, THE PROPELLER BLADES SHOWED CHORDWISE SCRATCHES AND TORSIONAL BENDING. THE PROPELLER NOSE DOME SHOWED A CRUSH ANGLE OF 30 DEGREES. THE LEADING EDGES OF BOTH WINGS WERE BENT UPWARD AND CRUSHED AFT. THE COCKPIT AND FUSELAGE WERE CRUSHED FORWARD. THE VERTICAL STABILIZER WAS BENT AND BUCKLED FORWARD. THE RUDDER WAS INTACT. THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZERS WERE BENT AND BROKEN FORWARD. THE ELEVATORS WERE BROKEN OUT, BUT REMAINED INTACT. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS CONFIRMED. THE AIRPLANE'S ENGINE WAS RETAINED FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION.

## 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 CHI01LA151](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA151), Jun 3, 2001: Air Tractor AT-402B (N484WB), Mount Vernon, SD, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot not maintaining aircraft control while maneuvering close to the ground.

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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