# Accident 20170805015769A: Lockheed P2V-5F, Pocatello, ID, August 5, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 5, 2017, 09:00 local time
- Place: Pocatello, ID
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: CILG
- Location: 42.9058° N, 112.5908° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=42.9058&lon=-112.5908&mi=10
- Aircraft: N410NA, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N410NA) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Lockheed P2V-5F (registry code 5260110, https://openairdocs.org/model/lockheed-p2v-5f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Wright R3350 series (registry code 67063, https://openairdocs.org/engine/wright-r3350-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: LOCKHEED P2V-5F
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Airline transport
- Pilot flight hours: 18,200 total, 2,900 in this make and model, 200 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR17LA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR17LA180) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170805015769A

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 5, 2017, A LOCKHEED P2V-5F, AIR TANKER WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED SHORTLY AFTER A DEPARTURE FROM POCATELLO REGIONAL AIRPORT (PIH), POCATELLO, IDAHO. THERE WERE NO INJURIES TO THE THREE PEOPLE ON BOARD.

ACCORDING TO THE PILOT-IN-COMMAND (PIC), THE FLIGHT DEPARTED ON ITS THIRD MISSION TO DISPERSE FIRE RETARDANT OVER A NEARBY WILDFIRE. DURING THE AIRPLANE?S CLIMB, THE PIC OBSERVED AN UNCOMMANDED AFT MOVEMENT OF THE CONTROL YOKE WITH A SIMULTANEOUS INCREASE IN THE AIRPLANE?S PITCH ATTITUDE. HE INSTRUCTED THE FIRST OFFICER (FO) TO RETRACT THE FLAPS WHILE HE RE-TRIMMED THE ELEVATOR, BUT THEY WERE NOT ABLE REGAIN PITCH CONTROL. THE AIRPLANE?S VARICAM INDICATOR SHOWED A FEW DEGREES OF NOSE DOWN TRIM AND DID NOT CHANGE FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE FLIGHT. THE FO ATTEMPTED TO ADJUST HIS TRIM WHEEL AND THEN RE-TRIM THE AIRPLANE USING THE EMERGENCY VARICAM, BUT THE AIRPLANE CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN A PITCH UP ATTITUDE. HE THEN DEPLOYED 5° OF FLAPS AT THE PIC?S INSTRUCTION, WHICH REDUCED THE ELEVATOR BACK PRESSURE. THE PIC SUBSEQUENTLY JETTISONED THE LOAD OF FIRERETARDANT OVER VACANT FARM LAND AND THEN ASKED THE FO TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY WITH THE TOWER CONTROLLER WHILE THE PIC ENTERED A SHALLOW LEFT TURN TO INTERCEPT THE DOWNWIND LEG FOR RUNWAY 21. AS HE MADE HIS CONTROL INPUTS HE DETERMINED THAT THE ELEVATOR WAS BOUND AS HE RECEIVED LITTLE RESPONSE FROM THE ELEVATOR CONTROL.

## 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 WPR17LA180](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR17LA180), Aug 6, 2017: Lockheed P2V 5F (N410NA), Pocatello, ID, substantial damage. Probable cause: Maintenance personnel's failure to secure hardware, which resulted in an uncommanded upward deflection of the left elevator and aft movement of the control yoke and inhibited the flight crew from…

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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