# NTSB ERA23LA215: Air Tractor AT-402A, N623LA, Good Hope, AL, April 24, 2023 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report - Date: April 24, 2023, 09:00 local (14:00 UTC) - Place: Good Hope, AL - Coordinates: 34.090953, -86.851378 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.0910&lon=-86.8514&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO - NTSB case key (mKey): 107307 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA23LA215 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/107307/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=107307 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA23LA215 ## Probable cause The pilot’s decision to land on a runway where there was insufficient clearance from obstructions (wheat crop) to operate safely. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Info processing/decision: decision making/judgment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-402A, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md?model=0390206), [All aircraft, 3,098 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041520/cases.md) - [Airport facilities/design: runway/landing area condition](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03017035): Environmental issues › Operating environment · Awareness of condition (probable cause); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-402A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03017035/cases.md?model=0390206), [All aircraft, 61 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03017035/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022000): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Effect on operation; cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-402A, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022000/cases.md?model=0390206), [All aircraft, 224 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300) (defining event); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-402A, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=0390206), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot of the agricultural airplane was landing on a private runway that was about 24 feet wide and surrounded by wheat crop. The pilot described that, during the landing, the airplane was closer to the edge of the runway than he thought, and the airplane’s right spray boom caught on the wheat after touchdown. The airplane subsequently veered off the runway and into the wheat field, resulting in substantial damage to the airplane’s empennage and left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation and that he should have checked the runway conditions before landing and considered the possible impact of the growing wheat on his operation from the runway. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N623LA](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N623LA), registered now, S/N 402A-1127, built 2000 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-402A - Registry model: [Air Tractor AT-402A](https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-402a) (registry code 0390206) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney PT6A series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (registry code 52034, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 402A-1127 - Year built: 2000 - Airframe hours: 8000 - Engines: Pratt & Whittney PT6A-11AG 550 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Pitts Aerial Services - Registered owner: Neal Aircraft Inc - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: 100 hour, May 22, 2022 - Departed: PVT, Cullman, AL - Destination: Same as departure - Airport: PVT, None, runway 36, 2,500 × 24 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 28; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land, multi-engine land; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review February 19, 2023; seat: center; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 2,000 total, 800 in this make and model, 1,950 as pilot in command, 90 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 60° at 11 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 50 °F, dew point 34 °F - Altimeter: 30.21 inHg - Observed at: KCMD, 5 nm away - METAR: KCMD 241355Z AUTO 06011KT 10SM FEW120 10/01 A3021 RMK AO2 ## 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 20230424003379A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230424003379A), Apr 24, 2023: Air Tractor Inc AT-402A, Cullman, AL, Substantial damage. Aircraft landed on private airstrip for the pupose of aerial application. At touchdown, the trailing edge chemical application boom aft of the right wing… ## Other investigations on N623LA (1) 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. - [NTSB CEN15IA200](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN15IA200), Apr 4, 2015: Air Tractor AT 402A (N623LA), Brickeys, AR, incident, minor damage. Probable cause: The in-flight separation of the attachment hardware at the elevator control pushrod due to maintenance personnel's improper reinstallation of the attachment hardware. ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 29, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=107307. 7.6 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 9 pages, 5.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15682074&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=6120p_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record - pilot statement (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 101 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15683440&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=MOR-Pitts_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Investigative photographs (item 3, PDF, 5 pages, 2.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=15683263&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array-Rel.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.