# Accident 20210518002009A: Air Tractor Inc AT-502A, Clayton, LA, May 18, 2021

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 18, 2021, 13:30 local time
- Place: Clayton, LA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: SFQG
- Location: 31.8011° N, 91.5869° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.8011&lon=-91.5869&mi=10
- Aircraft: N887LA, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N887LA-2022-03-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-502A (registry code 0390306, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-502a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60AG (registry code 52101, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-60ag) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-502A
- Reported engine: P&W CANADA PT6A-60AG
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,511 total, 1,511 in this make and model, 50 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN21LA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21LA223) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20210518002009A

## Narrative

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

ON TUESDAY, MAY 18, 2021, AT APPROXIMATELY 1925Z (1425L) AN AGRICULTURAL AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED CONDUCTING SPRAY ACTIVITIES APPROXIMATELY ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. THE AIRCRAFT WAS OBSERVED BY A PASSING MOTORIST TO BE CONCLUDING A DOWNWIND SPRAY RUN, THEN START AN AGGRESSIVE, CLIMBING LEFT TURN IN AN EFFORT TO REVERSE COURSE FOR ANOTHER SPRAYING PASS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS THEN OBSERVED TO CONTINUE TO BANK STEEPLY TO THE LEFT, EVENTUALLY BECOMING INVERTED. WITNESSES INDICATED THE AIRCRAFT REMAINED INVERTED WHILE DESCENDING RAPIDLY, SUBSEQUENTLY CRASHING INTO AN ADJACENT FIELD. THE AIRCRAFT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS N887LA, AN AIR TRACTOR, 502. THERE WAS ONE OCCUPANT ON BOARD AND HE SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES.

## 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 CEN21LA223](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21LA223), May 18, 2021: Air Tractor AT-502A (N887LA), Clayton, LA, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s loss of airplane control resulting in an aerodynamic stall while executing a steep turnaround during an aerial application flight.

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.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.