# NTSB DEN03LA109: Air Tractor AT-802A, N8505E, Las Vegas, NM, June 22, 2003 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 22, 2003, 10:36 local (16:36 UTC) - Place: Las Vegas, NM - Coordinates: 35.95, -104.933334 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.9500&lon=-104.9333&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report November 25, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Albuquerque Flight Standards District Office, Dept. of the Interior, Office of Aircraft Services - NTSB case key (mKey): 57281 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN03LA109 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/57281/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN03LA109 ## Probable cause the pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance and visual lookout. Contributing factors were his attention being diverted and the trees. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - In flight collision with object, maneuvering - diverted attention, pilot in command (contributing factor) - visual lookout - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - object - tree(s) ## Analysis The pilot was on his fourth sortie of the day, dropping retardant on a forest fire. He lowered flaps to 20 degrees and slowed the airplane to 100 to 120 knots in preparation for the drop. He passed the initial point in a slight right bank with a 500 to 600 foot per minute rate of descent and approximately a 3-degree glide angle. He momentarily diverted his attention to smoke rising from the target area. When he looked back, he saw a dead snag immediately in front of the airplane. He was unable to avoid hitting the tree due to its proximity and his rate of closure. The impact deflected the right elevator full down. The airplane pitched nose down and struck a second tree. The pilot regained limited control and returned to the airport, where he made an uneventful landing. ## Factual narrative On June 22, 2003, at 1036 mountain daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-802A, N8505E, registered to and operated by Aeronautical Technologies, Inc., of Clovis, New Mexico, and under the operational control of the State of New Mexico Forestry Division, was substantially damaged when it struck a tree while dropping fire retardant on a forest fire near Las Vegas, New Mexico. The airline transport pilot was not injured. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the aerial application flight being conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 137. The local flight originated from Las Vegas, New Mexico, at 1023. According to the accident report submitted by the Department of the Interior's Office of Aircraft Services (OAS), the pilot was dropping a mixture of water and LCA-R (trade name Fire-Trol, usually composed of ammonium phosphate, clay thickener, corrosion inhibitor, and colorant) on the Monument fire, located between the 7,000 and 8,000 foot level in the Maxson Crater, about 20 miles north of Las Vegas. Approximately 80 percent of the ground foliage were Pinion Pine and Juniper trees, interspersed with several dead snags that extended 30 to 40 feet above the live canopy. OAS investigators interviewed the pilot. He said that prior to the day's missions, he had conducted reconnoitered the fire area to determine routes of ingress and egress, winds, terrain, and hazards to flight. The first sortie was made at 0801. The accident occurred on the fourth mission. He lowered flaps to 20 degrees and slowed the airplane to 100 to 120 knots in preparation for the drop (standard configuration). He passed the IP (initial point) in a slight right bank with a 500 to 600 foot per minute rate of descent and approximately a 3-degree glide angle. He momentarily diverted his attention to smoke rising from the target area. When he looked back, he saw a dead snag immediately in front of the airplane. He was unable to avoid hitting the tree due to its proximity and his rate of closure. The impact deflected the right elevator full down. The airplane pitched nose down and struck a second tree. The pilot regained limited control and returned to the Las Vegas Airport, where he made an uneventful landing. Postaccident inspection revealed substantial damage to the right elevator. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8505E](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8505E), registered now, S/N 802A-0133 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Air Tractor AT-802A - Registry model: [Air Tractor AT-802A](https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-802a) (registry code 0390308) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 802A-0133 - Airframe hours: 566 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67AG 1350 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Registered owner: Aeronautical Technologies, Inc. - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, March 18, 2003, 66 hours before - Departed: LVS, Las Vegas, NM - Flight plan: Company VFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 56; injuries: none; airline transport, flight engineer, commercial, flight instructor; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, multi-engine land, single-engine land, multi-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; flight hours: 21,000 total, 100 in this make and model, 20,000 as pilot in command, 100 in the last 90 days, 15 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 230° at 8 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 77 °F, dew point 19 °F - Altimeter: 30.02 inHg - Observed at: LVS, 20 nm away ## 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 20030622013439A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20030622013439A), Jun 22, 2003: Airtrc AT802A, Las Vegas, NM, Substantial damage. (-23) On 6/22/2003 pilot dan rinner was accomplishing fire fighting in a air tractor, AT-802-A, N8505E when he was caught in a downdraft, he was able to… 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.