# Accident 20060805015879A: Airtrc AT502, Chowchilla, CA, August 5, 2006

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 5, 2006, 04:00 local time
- Place: Chowchilla, CA
- Airport: Chowchilla Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: T9DG
- Location: 37.0356° N, 120.3575° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.0356&lon=-120.3575&mi=10
- Aircraft: N502WQ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N502WQ-2008-05-19) (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 PT6A34AG
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 30,000 total, 2,000 in this make and model, 200 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX06LA255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06LA255) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060805015879A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON 8/05/2006, AT APPROXIMATELY 0400PDT, AIR TRACTOR AIRCRAFT, N502WQ CRASHED INVERTED INTO AN OPEN WHEAT FIELD APPROXIMATELY 10 MILES DUE WEST OF THE CHOWCHILLA, CA AIRPORT (2O6). THE PROFESSIONAL AERIAL APPLICATOR PILOT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ WAS PERFORMING HIS COURSE REVERSAL AFTER SPRAYING "LANNATE" ON AN ALFALFA FIELD 1/2 MILE SOUTHEAST OF THE CRASH SITE, ACCORDING TO HIS FIELD SPOTTER. DURING HIS TURNAROUND, THE PILOT RADIOED HIS SPOTTER ASKING FOR A WIND READING. THE AIRCRAFT THEN CRASHED WITH NO APPARENT EXTERNAL REASON, SUCH AS A WIRE STRIKE. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE WHEAT FIELD INVERTED WITH SUCH INTENSITY THAT THE UPPER WINGS MADE A CLEARLY VISIBLE IMPRESSION ON THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT THEN SLID APPROX 150 FEET ON A TRUE HEADING OF 270 DEG'S. INJURIES TO THE PILOT WERE FATAL. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE PILOT HAD JUST RECENTLY HAD SOME KIDNEY STONES REMOVED, AND THAT JUST PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT THE PILOT HAD COMPLAINED OF DISCOMFORT IN HIS GROIN AREA.

## 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 LAX06LA255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX06LA255), Aug 5, 2006: Air Tractor AT-502 (N502WQ), Chowchilla, CA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's loss of control while maneuvering resulting from an incapacitating physiological event.

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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