# Accident 20020520011209A: Airtrc AT402, Hughes, AR, May 20, 2002

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 20, 2002, 07:40 local time
- Place: Hughes, AR
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: UTCG
- Location: 35.0661° N, 90.5822° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.0661&lon=-90.5822&mi=10
- Aircraft: N91660, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N91660-2013-10-23) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-402 (registry code 0390205, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-402) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52034, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT402
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW02LA158](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW02LA158) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020520011209A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON MAY 20, 2002, APPROXIMATELY 0740 CENTRAL DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AIR TRACTOR 402 AGRICULTURAL AIRPLANE, N91660, SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHILE LANDING AT A PRIVATE GRASS AIRSTRIP NEAR HUGHES, ARKANSAS. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT, SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRPLANE, WAS NOT INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM ANOTHER PRIVATE AIRSTRIP NEAR HUGHES AT 0720. THE PILOT REPORTED THAT WHILE SPRAYING A FIELD, HE WAS HAVING TROUBLE WITH THREE SPRAY NOZZLES, AND DECIDED TO RETURN TO THE AIRSTRIP AND REPAIR THEM. HE REPORTED THAT AFTER TOUCHIND DOWN, THE TAIL WHEEL WAS NOT LOCKING PROPERLY; HOWEVER, HE WAS ABLE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL OF THE AIRPLANE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRPLANE "KICKED TO THE LEFT, LIKE SOMETHING HAD COME LOOSE BACK THERE." THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT SPRAY BOOM BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE ADJACENT WHEAT CROP, PULLING IT OFF THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AIRSTRIP. THE AIRPLANE GROUND LOOPED, AND CAME TO REST IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION.

## 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 FTW02LA158](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW02LA158), May 20, 2002: Air Tractor 402 (N91660), Hughes, AR, substantial damage. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. Contributing factors were the malfunction of the tail wheel locking mechanism and the high vegetation along the sides of…

## Other reports on N91660 (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19980507046869A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980507046869A), May 7, 1998: Airtrc AT402 (N91660), Forrest City, AR, No damage. (-23) The pilot was making an easterly swath ren over a rice field. The sun was in the east (07:00 local time). The windshield had some spray particles on it…

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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