# Accident 20170622008589A: Air Tractor Inc AT-502B, Portales, NM, June 22, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: June 22, 2017, 17:56 local time
- Place: Portales, NM
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: K3AG
- Location: 34.2633° N, 103.3531° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.2633&lon=-103.3531&mi=10
- Aircraft: N700LA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N700LA-2017-09-26) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-502B (registry code 0390307, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-502b) (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-502B
- Reported engine: P&W PT6A SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,050 total, 1,600 in this make and model, 75 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA17CA360](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA360) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170622008589A

## Narrative

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

PILOT WAS DISPENSING CHEMICALS FOR GRASS HOPPER ERADICATION.  MAKING A TURN AND LOSING MOMENTUM, HE REALIZED HE WAS NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO CLIMB OVER THE POWER TRANSMISSION LINES AND WAS APPROACHING STALL SPEED.  HE LOWERED THE NOSE TO FLY UNDER THE POWER LINES AND THE LANDING GEAR STRUCK A HIGH SPOT ON THE GROUND.  THE AIRPLANE FLIPPED INVERTED AND CAUGHT FIRE.  PILOT WAS ABLE TO GET OUT WITHOUT INJURY.  THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED BY THE FIRE.

## 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 GAA17CA360](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA17CA360), Jun 22, 2017: Air Tractor AT 502 (N700LA), Portales, NM, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's decision to fly the airplane under transmission lines while maneuvering at low altitude in high-density altitude conditions, which resulted in subsequent 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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