CEN13LA402

NTSB accident investigation · Air Tractor AT-502B · Tillar, AR · July 3, 2013

Accident · No injuriesLimited investigationFinal report
Date
July 3, 2013, 14:50 local (19:50 UTC)
Place
Tillar, AR
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Takeoff
Aircraft
N5182CAir Tractor AT-502B
Defining event
Takeoff: Part(s) separation from AC
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed · report March 13, 2014
Report
Approved by Office Director
NTSB office
Central Region
Parties
Federal Aviation Administration
FAA report
20130703010939A
Case key
87429

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

Probable cause

The loss of engine throttle control during takeoff due to an unsecured cockpit throttle control pin, which resulted in a runway overrun.

Findings · 2

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Engine controls: power leverAircraft › Aircraft power plant · FailureAir Tractor AT-502B: 1 caseAll aircraft: 95 casesProbable cause
Performance/control parameters: powerplant parametersAircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Attain/maintain not possibleAir Tractor AT-502B: 1 caseAll aircraft: 81 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

During takeoff, the airplane sustained a partial loss of engine power and overran the runway after the pilot lost cockpit throttle control. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed a throttle control pin lying on the cockpit floor. A cotter pin for the throttle control pin was missing; the length of time it had been missing could not be determined.

Factual narrative

On July 3, 2013, about 1450 central daylight time, an Air Tractor, Inc. AT-502B, N5182C, impacted terrain when it overran the runway during takeoff from a Tillar Airport (5AR1) near Tillar, Arkansas. The airplane experienced a partial loss of engine power when there was a loss of cockpit throttle control. A throttle control pin was found on the cockpit floor. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and wings. The commercial pilot was uninjured. The airplane was registered to and operated by Confederate Air Inc under 14 Code of Federal Regulation Part 137 as an aerial application flight and was not operating on a flight plan. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident. According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector from the Little Rock, Arkansas Flight Standards District Office, post-accident examination of the airplane revealed that a cockpit throttle control pin was lying on the cockpit floor. A cotter pin for the throttle control pin was missing, and the length of time it had been missing was not determined. The last maintenance inspection of the airplane was a 100-hour inspection dated April 18, 2013, at a Hobbs time of 57 hours. A National Transportation Safety Board Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident/Incident Report was not received from the pilot.

Aircraft

Registration
N5182C
Reported as
Air Tractor AT-502B
Category
Airplane
Serial number
502B-0499
Built
1998
Engine
Pratt & Whitney PT6A, 500 horsepower, turbo prop
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Aerial application · Part 137
Operator
Confederate Air Inc
Registered owner
Confederate Air Inc
Airworthiness certificate
Special, Restricted (Special)
Last inspection
100 hour · April 18, 2013
Departed
PVT · Tillar, AR
Destination
PVT · Tillar, AR
Airport
5AR1 · Tillar Airport, runway 36, 3,200 × 85 ft, asphalt

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
36
Injuries
None
Certificate
Commercial
Airplane ratings
Single-engine land
Medical
Class 2
Seat
Center
Flight hours
11,000 total

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
40° at 6 knots
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
84 °F, dew point 57 °F
Altimeter
30.05 inHg
Observed at
LLQ, 15 nm away

Docket · 6

The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 4, 2013, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.1 MB in all.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.