# NTSB CEN20LA357: Air Tractor AT802, N759FA, Dell, AR, August 21, 2020 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: August 21, 2020, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC) - Place: Dell, AR - Coordinates: 35.857658, -90.040421 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.8577&lon=-90.0404&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA FSDO, Air Tractor Inc, Hartzell Propellers, TSB - NTSB case key (mKey): 101845 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN20LA357 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/101845/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101845 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA357 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and collision with terrain. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained; cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-802A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md?model=0390308), [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) (defining event); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-802A, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md?model=0390308), [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot departed on his fourth agricultural flight of the day to apply a fungicide agent to the crop. Two witnesses, who saw the airplane during the flight, indicated that the airplane made a steep turn, then lost altitude. Postaccident examination of the accident site revealed, the airplane impacted terrain in a steep attitude. The front of the airplane was heavily damaged, the wings were accordioned-crushed along the wingspan, and the engine was embedded in the ground. Examination of the airframe and engine did not reveal any preimpact abnormalities that would have contributed to the accident. Nonvolatile memory was successfully downloaded from the airplane’s engine monitor. A review of the data noted that the accident flight was the 630th session and that no anomalies in the engine parameters were recorded before the end of the recording. The accident is consistent with an aerodynamic stall following a loss of airspeed while the pilot maneuvered at low altitude. ## Factual narrative On August 21, 2020, about 1430 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-802A airplane, N759FA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Del, Arkansas. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The accident flight was to apply a fungicide agent to the crop, and the pilot had performed three flights earlier in the day, before the accident flight. Two witnesses who saw the airplane during the flight indicated that the airplane made a steep turn, then lost altitude. A technical representative from the airframe manufacturer and a Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane on site. The airplane impacted terrain in a nose-down attitude. The front of the airplane was heavily damaged, the wings were accordioned-crushed along the wingspan, and the engine was embedded in the ground. An on-site examination of the airframe did not identify any preimpact abnormities that would have contributed to the accident. A Satloc GPS was downloaded, and a portable Garmin Aera 660 GPS and an Electronics International MVP-50T engine monitor were sent to the National Transportation Safety Board’s Vehicle Recorder lab for download. The Garmin 660 GPS had impact damage and no data were recovered from the unit. Nonvolatile memory was successfully downloaded from the MVP-50T engine monitor. A review of the data noted that the accident flight was the 630th session, which started recording at 1310:13.00 CDT and ended at 1434:45.00 CDT on August 21, 2020. Review of the data also noted no sudden or change in engine parameters before the end of the recording. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N759FA](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N759FA-2022-09-24), registration cancelled 2022-09-24, S/N 802A-0759, built 2018 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Air Tractor AT802 (A) - Registry model: [Air Tractor AT-802A](https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-802a) (registry code 0390308) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-65ag) (registry code 52109, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 802A-0759 - Year built: 2018 - Airframe hours: 839.9 - Engines: P&W PT6A-65AG turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Tesk Aviation Llc - Registered owner: Tesk Aviation Llc - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: 100 hour, March 24, 2020 - Departed: Dell, AR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 55; injuries: fatal; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review January 11, 2020; seat: single; toxicology performed; flight hours: 17,500 total, 9,474 in this make and model, 300 in the last 90 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 60° at 7 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 3,700 ft broken - Temperature: 75 °F, dew point 64 °F - Altimeter: 29.89 inHg - Observed at: KBYH ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20200821009649A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20200821009649A), Aug 21, 2020: Air Tractor Inc AT-802A, Dell, AR, Destroyed, 1 fatal. On August 22, 2020 at approximately 1435, an at 802A, serial number 802A-0759, N759FA crashed in a bean field while engaging in CFR 137 agricultural spraying… ## Docket (12 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 16, 2022, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=101845. 20.4 MB in all. - Memo (item 1, PDF, 1 page, 159 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12792985&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Memo-Rel.pdf - Satloc printout (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 76 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12793202&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Satloc%20report%2021%20Aug-Rel.pdf - Flight tracks (item 3, PDF, 1 page, 528 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12793585&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=SatLoc%20tracks%20-overview-Rel.pdf - Maintenance record (excerpts) (item 4, PDF, 2 pages, 6.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13091809&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Mx%20record%20(excerpts)_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Airframe exam (item 5, PDF, 8 pages, 541 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12793318&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN20LA357%20Airframe%20Report_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation (item 6, PDF, 2 pages, 2.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12793328&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=party%20forms_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Acc rep (item 7, PDF, 1 page, 879 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13093041&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=TSB_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 (item 8, PDF, 1 page, 5.7 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12793029&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Signed%20Wreckage%20release_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Toxicological report (item 9, PDF, 1 page, 404 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12794483&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=pilot%20tox_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Work schedule (item 10, PDF, 1 page, 308 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12803145&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Work%20Schedule_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Electronic devices specialist's factual report (item 11, PDF, 8 pages, 1.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12974558&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN20LA357_MultipleDevices_Final-Rel.pdf - Attachment 1 to electronic devices specialist's factual report (item 12, CSV, 916 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12974739&FileExtension=csv&FileName=Attachment1-Rel.csv 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. --- 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.