- Date
- February 8, 2020, 12:40 local (19:40 UTC)
- Place
- Fort Morgan, CO
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N970FAAir Tractor AT-504
- Defining event
- Landing: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 17, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20200208000759A
- Case key
- 100930
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 pilot's improper landing flare, which resulted in a bounced landing, and his subsequent failure to maintain directional control, which resulted in the left main landing gear tire bursting and the tailwheel assembly failing.
Findings · 4
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.
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
According to the pilot on the controls in the left seat, the right seat pilot was familiarizing him with the airplane. The airplane bounced during landing on the runway. During the landing roll, the airplane veered left, and he overcorrected to the right, followed by an overcorrection to the left. He applied heavy braking, and the airplane turned 120° to the right. The side load on the left main landing gear tire resulted in it bursting. The wheel rim then dug into the runway, the airplane bounced, the tailwheel assembly failed, and the tail spring steel strut then dug into the soft surface. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the aft fuselage and the empennage.
Factual narrative
Both pilot's onboard the airplane reported that the purpose of the flight was to familiarize the pilot in the left seat with the airplane, of which he was appropriately rated yet had never flown. According to the pilot on the controls in the left seat, the tailwheel-equipped airplane bounced during landing on the asphalt runway. During the landing roll, the airplane veered to the left and he overcorrected to the right, followed by an overcorrection to the left. He applied heavy braking and the airplane turned 120° to the right and exited the right side of the runway. The left main landing gear tire deflated, and the wheel dug into the dirt surface. The airplane bounced, and the tailwheel-assembly failed and dug into the soft surface. The airplane sustained damage to the aft fuselage and the empennage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N970FA
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-504 (No Series)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 504-4028
- Built
- 2015
- Airframe hours
- 1,331.8
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney PT-6-34AG, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- CO Fire Aviation
- Registered owner
- CO Fire Aviation
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 2, 2019
- Departed
- FMM · Fort Morgan, CO
- Destination
- FMM · Fort Morgan, CO
- Airport
- FMM · Fort Morgan Muni, runway 32, 5,731 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- ADS-B, Stall warning system
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 32
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 19, 2019
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 2,824 total · 2 in this make and model · 2,726 as pilot in command · 20 in the last 90 days
- Role
- Flight instructor
- Age
- 58
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 18, 2019
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 15,186 total · 37 in this make and model · 1,500 as pilot in command · 62 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 59 °F, dew point 23 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.62 inHg
- Observed at
- KFMM
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 2, 2020, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 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.