# NTSB ERA09LA346: Air Tractor AT-602, N5202U, Magee, MS, June 14, 2009 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: June 14, 2009, 17:30 local (22:30 UTC) - Place: Magee, MS - Coordinates: 31.862777, -89.800552 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=31.8628&lon=-89.8006&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report July 1, 2010 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 74037 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA09LA346 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/74037/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74037 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA09LA346 ## Probable cause A total loss of engine power after takeoff for undetermined reasons. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Not determined](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000): Not determined › Not determined · Unknown/Not determined (probable cause); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-602, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md?model=0390309), [All aircraft, 2,247 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/05000000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Initial climb: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-602, 11 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=0390309), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Initial climb: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-602, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=0390309), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was departing on an agricultural flight. As the airplane climbed to approximately 25 feet above the runway, it experienced a total loss of engine power, and the left wing dropped. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground, which caused the empennage and the main landing gear to separate. The pilot exited the airplane before a postcrash fire consumed the cockpit and a portion of the right wing. Postaccident disassembly and inspection of the engine assembly and testing of accessory components did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was performed almost 1 year prior to the accident. The engine had accumulated about 7,000 hours since new, and 300 hours since the annual inspection. ## Factual narrative On June 14, 2009, about 1730 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-602, N5202U, was substantially damaged when it experienced a total loss of engine power during takeoff from Magee Municipal Airport (17M), Magee, Mississippi. The certificated commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the agricultural flight that was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. During a telephone interview, the pilot reported that he was departing runway 18, a 3,104-foot-long, asphalt runway. As the airplane climbed to approximately 25 feet above the runway, "the engine went quiet" and the left wing dropped. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground, which caused the empennage and the main landing gear to separate. The pilot exited the airplane before a post-crash fire consumed the cockpit and a portion of the right wing. The pilot further reported that he departed with both fuel tanks about five-eighths full and that he completed 12 previous flights in the airplane on the day of the accident, without any abnormalities. Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector did not reveal any obvious mechanical malfunctions. The propeller was observed at or near the feathered position, and could be rotated freely. The airplane was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) PT6A-60AG series engine, which was forwarded to the P&WC Service Investigation Facility, St. Hubert, Quebec, Canada, where it was examined under supervision of a Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigator. The examination revealed that the engine did not display any impact damage. The power section and gas generator section rotors rotated freely by hand, and were continuous with all accessory drives. Subsequent disassembly and inspection of the engine assembly and testing of accessory components did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal engine operation. According to the operator, the airplane's most recent annual inspection was performed on July 1, 2008. The engine had accumulated about 7,000 hours since new, and 300 hours since the annual inspection. The pilot reported 8,200 hours of total flight experience, which included 600 hours in the same make and model as the accident airplane. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N5202U](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5202U-2012-11-29), registration cancelled 2012-11-29, S/N 602-0542, built 1999 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AIR TRACTOR AT-602 - Registry model: [Air Tractor AT-602](https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-602) (registry code 0390309) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-66-series) (registry code 52118, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 602-0542 - Airframe hours: 7000 - Engines: P&W Canada PT6A-60AG 1050 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Thrash Aviation - Registered owner: Ag Pilot Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, July 1, 2008, 300 hours before - Departed: 17M, Magee, MS - Destination: 17M, Magee, MS - Airport: 17M, Magee, runway 18, 3,104 × 50 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; medical: class 2, with waivers/limitations; last flight review November 19, 2007; seat: center; flight hours: 8,200 total, 600 in this make and model, 8,100 as pilot in command, 450 in the last 90 days, 150 in the last 30 days, 6 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 260° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 90 °F, dew point 70 °F - Altimeter: 29.97 inHg - Observed at: JAN, 30 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 20090614008989A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20090614008989A), Jun 14, 2009: Airtrc AT602, Magee, MS, Destroyed. (-23) On takeoff from Magee, MS (17M) on runway 18 the aircraft's engine stop producing power causing the aircraft to stall and crashed land at the end of the… ## Docket (5 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 1, 2010, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=74037. 1.7 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2 (item 1, .PDF, 363 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40329173&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1%2F2-Redacted.PDF - Interview Memorandums (item 2, .PDF, 64 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40329159&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Interview%20Memorandums-Master.PDF - Maintenance Records (excerpts) (item 3, .PDF, 271 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40329146&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Maintenance%20Records%20(excerpts)-Redacted.PDF - Pratt and Whitney Canada Engine Teardown Report (excerpt) (item 4, .PDF, 57 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40329166&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pratt%20and%20Whitney%20Canada%20Engine%20Teardown%20Report%20(excerpt)%20%20-Master.PDF - Photograph # 1: View of airplane as it came to rest (provided by Federal Aviation Adminstration) (item 5, .PDF, 927 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40329158&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photograph%20%23%201%3A%20View%20of%20airplane%20as%20it%20came%20to%20rest%20(provided%20by%20Federal%20Aviation%20Adminstration)-Master.PDF 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.