# Accident 20110509008289A: Air Tractor Inc AT-802A, Miles City, MT, May 9, 2011

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 9, 2011, 09:15 local time
- Place: Miles City, MT
- Airport: Frank Wiley
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Operator: NWFG
- Location: 46.4169° N, 105.6369° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=46.4169&lon=-105.6369&mi=10
- Aircraft: N8523H, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N8523H-2011-09-27) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-802A (registry code 0390308, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-802a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52034, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-802A
- Reported engine: P&W PT6A SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 19,000 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR11FA221](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11FA221) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110509008289A

## Narrative

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

ON MAY 9, 2011 ABOUT 0915 LOCAL, AIRCRAFT AT-802A, N8523H, WAS DESTROYED IMPACTING RISING TERRAIN ABOUT 11 MILES EAST OF MILES CITY, MONTANA.THE PILOT AND SOLE OCCUPANT WAS FATALLY INJURED.  IMC CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND A VFR FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED.THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED IN ABERDEEN, SOUTH DAKOTA BOUND FOR FORT BENTON, MONTANA WITH A FUEL STOP IN MILES CITY, MONTANA.  THE AIRCRAFT AND PILOT WERE RETURNING FROM A FIREFIGHTING CONTRACT IN WISCONSIN.ON THE EVENING OF MAY 9, 2011  THE AIRCRAFT WAS REPORTED OVERDUE BY THE OWNER AND AN AERIAL SEARCH LOCATED THE WRECKAGE THE AFTERNOON OF THE NEXT DAY.  A WITNESS, INSIDE HER HOME .3 MILES E/NE OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, HEARD AN AIRCRAFT GO LOW AND FAST OVER HER HOUSE EAST TO WEST FOLLOWED BY A DISTANT "POOF" SOUND.  SHE LOOKED OUT A WINDOW AND COULD NOT SEE AN AIRCRAFT OR SIGNS OF AN ACCIDENT.  SHE NOTED A LOW CLOUD/FOG LAYER OBSCURING THE MOUNTAIN RIDGE TO THE WEST AND LIGHT RAIN/MIST IN THE AIR WITH GOOD VISIBILITY BELOW THE CLOUD LAYER.ACCIDENT SITE EXAMINATION REVEALED THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED TREES AND RISING TERRAIN.  ALL MAJOR AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS WERE LOCATED ALONG A 316' DEBRIS PATH HEADING 212 DEGREES MAGNETIC.THE HOUSE OF THE WITNESS WAS VISIBLE FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE AND THE SITE WAS NEAR THE TOP OF THE RIDGE THAT HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY NOTED AS OBSCURED.

## 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 WPR11FA221](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR11FA221), May 9, 2011: Air Tractor AT-802A (N8523H), Miles City, MT, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's continued visual flight rules flight into deteriorating weather conditions in an airplane not equipped for instrument flight, which resulted in a collision with terrain.

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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