# Accident 20220803007949A: Air Tractor Inc AT-502B, Melville, LA, August 3, 2022

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 3, 2022, 08:30 local time
- Place: Melville, LA
- Airport: Yankee Field
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Descent
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Location: 30.6930° N, 91.7440° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.6930&lon=-91.7440&mi=10
- Aircraft: N41850, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N41850-2023-04-20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-502B (registry code 0390307, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-502b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34 series (registry code 52250, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-34-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-502B
- Reported engine: P&W CANADA PT6A-34AG
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 13,000 total, 6,500 in this make and model, 311 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN22LA359](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22LA359) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220803007949A

## Narrative

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

MAKING FOURTH PASS APPLYING INSECTICIDE TO SOYBEAD FIELD. HEARD LOUD BANG, WHEN AIRCRAFT CAME TO A STOP. EXITED THE AIRCRAFT AS IT WAS ON FIRE. I THEN REALIZED THE LOUD BANG WAS THE AIRCRAFT HAD STRUCK A DEAD TREE THAT I DID NOT SEE.

## 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 CEN22LA359](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22LA359), Aug 3, 2022: Air Tractor AT-502B (N41850), Melville, LA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot improperly monitored the operating environment which resulted in a collision with a tree located in the middle of a field.

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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