- Date
- June 18, 2023, 13:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Sturgis, SD · Runway 11 at 49B
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N290LAAir Tractor AT-502
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Rapid City FSDO
- FAA report
- 20230618005079A
- Case key
- 192396
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 timing to initiate beta mode with the propeller and his failure to maintain directional during the full load landing that resulted in a runway excursion. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s lack of recent experience with performing a full load landing and the high-density altitude that likely affected aircraft performance during the landing.
Findings · 6
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
The pilot reported he departed in the airplane with about 660 lbs of fuel and about 3,500 lbs of liquid chemical for application to a pasture. After arriving at the pasture, the chemical dispersal system was malfunctioning, and the pilot decided to return to the airport. During the landing to the first quarter of the runway, the airplane was about 125 mph, with “half flap” applied, and the tailwheel was locked. As the tailwheel touched down on the dry concrete runway, the pilot initiated beta mode with the propeller, and the airplane “started veering to the right.” The pilot assessed that he “reversed the propeller too aggressively and too soon.” The airplane departed the runway to the right, the left main landing gear separated after impacting a ditch, and the airplane came to rest upright on a grass field. The pilot was able to egress from the airplane without further incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and the left wing. The operator reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident examination of the chemical dispersal system found foreign object debris that was likely blocking the flow of the chemical. Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 Agricultural Aircraft Operations does not contain full load landing training and recurrency requirements. The pilot reported the last time he performed a full load landing was about 2 years prior. The estimated density altitude for the airport was 6,101 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N290LA
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-502 (A)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 502A-3137
- Built
- 2018
- Airframe hours
- 487
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-140AG, 867 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Ascend Ag Inc, doing business as Ascend Ag Inc
- Registered owner
- Ascend Ag Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 15, 2023 · 27 hours before
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- 49B · Sturgis Muni, runway 11, 5,100 × 75 ft, concrete
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B
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
- 35
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- May 22, 2022
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 1,927 total · 690 in this make and model · 1,927 as pilot in command · 70 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 17 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.60 inHg
- Observed at
- KRCA, 20 nm away
- METAR
- KRCA 181855Z AUTO 18017KT 10SM CLR 29/09 A2960 RMK AO2 PK WND 16027/19 SLP001 T02870089 $
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 27, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 7.1 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.