# Accident 20170822011669A: Rockwell International S-2R, Calipatria, CA, August 22, 2017

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 22, 2017, 11:15 local time
- Place: Calipatria, CA
- Airport: Brawley
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: FAYG
- Location: 33.1144° N, 115.3653° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.1144&lon=-115.3653&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5022X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5022X-2018-01-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Rockwell International S-2R (registry code 7630202, https://openairdocs.org/model/rockwell-international-s-2r) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Wright C7BA series (registry code 67017, https://openairdocs.org/engine/wright-c7ba-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: ROCKWELL INTERNATIONAL S-2R
- Reported engine: WRIGHT C7BA SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 2,400 total, 500 in this make and model, 60 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ANC17FA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC17FA047) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170822011669A

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 22, 2017, ABOUT 1100 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A ROCKWELL S-2R, N5022X, IMPACTED TERRAIN ABOUT 9 MILES EAST OF CALIPATRIA, CALIFORNIA.  THE CRASH WAS WITNESSED BY AN INDIVIDUAL WHO WAS WORKING IN THE AREA AT THE TIME.  HE OBSERVED THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE COMPLETE AN AGRICULTURAL SPRAY PASS FROM WEST TO EAST. AS THE AIRPLANE APPROACHED HIS POSITION, THE AIRPLANE BEGAN A RIGHT TURN TO TURN AROUND AND

RE-ENTER THE SPRAY AREA. FOLLOWING A SLIGHT RIGHT TURN, THE AIRPLANE ROLLED WINGS LEVEL BEFORE WHAT WOULD TYPICALLY BE A LEFT TURN BACK TO THE FIELD. WHEN THE WINGS WERE ROLLED LEVEL, AT AN ESTIMATED ALTITUDE OF BETWEEN 150FT ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL) AND 200FT AGL, THE NOSE DROPPED AND THE

AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE FIELD IN NEAR VERTICAL ATTITUDE. FOLLOWING THE IMPACT, A FIRE IGNITED AND CONSUMED THE WRECKAGE.   ANOTHER WITNESS WAS A "FLAGGER" IN THE FIELD WITH 29 YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT AT THE OPERATION.  HE STATED THAT PRIOR TO THE CRASH HE WAS IN RADIO CONTACT WITH THE PILOT AND THAT THE LAST COMMUNICATION WAS THE PILOT STATING THAT HE WAS GOING TO MAKE ANOTHER PASS, THEN CRASHED WITHOUT FURTHER COMMUNICATION.  A THIRD WITNESS, A "CHEMICAL MIXER" STATED THAT PRIOR TO THE CRASH HE WAS ALSO IN COMMUNICATION WITH THE PILOT AND THAT AFTER TAKE-OFF THE PILOT STATED "THE PLANE FELT GOOD"  THAT WAS THE LAST COMMUNICATION PRIOR TO THE CRASH.  THE PILOT HAD CRASHED WHILE FLYING THE SAME MAKE/MODEL AIRCRAFT FOR AGRICULTURAL APPLICATIONS ON 1 AUG 2017 NTSB# WPR17LA174 RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT.

## 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 ANC17FA047](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC17FA047), Aug 22, 2017: Rockwell International S 2R (N5022X), Calipatria, CA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: A loss of control for reasons that could not be determined because of the extensive thermal damage from the postcrash fire.

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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