FTW02LA034

History of flight

On November 14, 2001, at 0930 central standard time, an Air Tractor AT-802A agricultural airplane, N202AT, was destroyed when it impacted trees while on final approach to land near Benton, Louisiana. The airplane was registered to and operated by Aeronautical Technologies Inc., of Clovis, New Mexico. The commercial pilot, sole occupant of the airplane, sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan was not filed for the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. The local flight originated from the LJ Earnest Airport, Benton, Louisiana, at 0910.

According to another pilot who was spraying the same fields as the accident airplane, they waited for fog to lift in the morning and began their spraying. He stated that they dispersed their initial load and were returning to the airstrip to reload. The pilot added that when he was on short final he heard the pilot of N202AT report that he was eight miles out and inbound for landing. The pilot reloaded and flew back to the spraying area and after a little while, noticed that N202AT had not returned to the spray area. He inquired to the ground crew if they had seen N202AT. The ground crew reported that they had not seen nor heard from N202AT since his last radio call inbound. The other pilot began to search for N202AT and found the aircraft in a swampy area 300 yards from the approach end of the airstrip.

Personnel information

The non-instrument rated commercial pilot held an airplane single-engine land rating with the following limitation, "Carrying passengers in airplanes for hire is prohibited at night and on cross-country flights of more than 50 nautical miles." The pilot was issued a second class medical certificate on February 28, 2001, with a limitation dictating that he "must have available glasses for near vision." According to the last FAA medical application, the pilot reported having accumulated 11,332 hours of total flight time. According to acquaintances of the pilot, approximately half of his flight hours were accumulated in turbo propeller aircraft.

Aircraft information

The 1996-model agricultural airplane was painted yellow with blue and black stripes along its sides. The airplane was outfitted with an 800-gallon hopper tank. The airplane was equipped with a Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67AG turbo propeller engine and a 5-bladed constant speed, reversing, and feathering Hartzell propeller. Review of the aircraft's maintenance records revealed that the records were "lost when returning from a job in Pennsylvania." The airplane had been owned by Aeronautical Technologies Inc., since new, and the company attempted to duplicate the records from work orders.

A Satloc Global Positioning System (GPS) was installed in October 1996. On August 20, 1999, at an engine total time of 1,802.2 hours and 577 total cycles since new, the engine was removed "due to FOD (foreign object damage)." The engine was sent to an overhaul facility for repair and a hot section inspection, and was reinstalled on the accident airplane on October 6, 1999. A maintenance entry dated December 28, 2000, indicated that the propeller was removed for overhaul and was reinstalled. On May 2, 2001, the propeller was dynamically balanced. On July 19, 2001, during a "100-hour inspection" at an aircraft total time of 3,666.0 hours, the elevator, rudder, and horizontal stabilizer were removed and replaced, and the elevator trim cables and the rudder trim push-pull rod ends were replaced. On July 28, 2001, the aircraft underwent its last annual inspection at an aircraft total time of 3,666.0 hours. On the same day as the annual inspection, the engine underwent a 100-hour inspection at an engine total time of 3,038.1 hours and 1,149 total cycles since new.

Meteorological information

At 0856, the weather observation facility at the Shreveport Regional Airport (located approximately 16 miles southwest of the accident site) reported the wind from 120 degrees at 8 knots, visibility 4 statute miles in mist, broken clouds at 25,000 feet, temperature 16 degrees Celsius, dew point 14 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.20 inches of mercury.

Wreckage and impact information

According to FAA inspectors, who responded to the accident site, the airplane impacted trees and water approximately 300 yards east of the airstrip. Review of photographs taken at the accident site revealed that the main wreckage came to rest on the west side of a swampy canal. There was a swath of freshly broken trees approximately 50 feet wide that descended approximately 10 degrees toward the water on the eastern side of the canal. On the eastern side of the canal, the right main landing gear wheel was found in the water. The aircraft was fractured into multiple sections. The cockpit remained intact; however, its instrument panel was separated. The area in front of the cockpit, which included the hopper and engine, was separated from the airframe; however, the hopper and engine remained attached to each other. The propeller was separated from the engine; the aft section of the reduction gear box remained with the engine, and the forward section of the reduction gear box remained attached to the propeller. The wing structure was separated into three main sections; a fragmented right outboard, the left outboard, and the center section. The empennage was separated from the fuselage just aft of the cockpit. The vertical and horizontal stabilizers were separated from the empennage.

Photographs of the wreckage at the accident site revealed that the power, propeller, and condition lever console was partially separated from its mount and all of the controls were found in the mid-range position. Photographs of the flap actuator at the accident site revealed that 6 threads were visible, which correlates to a 10-degree flap extension setting.

According to the FAA inspectors who responded to the accident site, a rainbow sheen (similar to that caused by petroleum products) was noted over the surface of the water. They reported that fuel could be smelled throughout the swamp. The FAA inspectors removed the high pressure fuel filter and noted fuel in the bowl.

The aircraft wreckage was transported to Air Salvage of Dallas, Lancaster, Texas, for further examination.

Medical and pathological information

The medical examiner reported that he found the seat belt and shoulder harnesses unbuckled and undamaged when he arrived on scene. Photographs taken from the accident site show the seatbelt and shoulder harnesses unsecured. The medical examiner asked the first responders if anyone had undone the seatbelts and they responded in the negative. A white helmet was found hanging from a tree branch by its communication cord. It is not known whether the pilot was wearing the helmet at the time of the accident.

An autopsy conducted by Forensic Pathologists, Inc., of Bossier City, Louisiana, determined that the cause of death was traumatic injury.

Toxicological testing was conducted on the pilot by the Civil Aeromedical Institute, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The toxicology results revealed that 0.037 ug/ml of diphenhydramine was detected in the pilot's blood, and an unquantified amount of diphenhydramine was detected in his urine. Diphenhydramine (commonly known by the trade name Benadryl) is an over-the-counter antihistamine used in symptomatic management of allergic symptoms and also for its sedative, antitussive and antispasmodic effects.

The American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine conducted a study (Effects of Fexofenadine, Diphenhydramine, and Alcohol on Driving Performance) on the effects of diphenhydramine on driving performance. The results of that study indicated that "Participants had significantly better coherence after taking alcohol or fexofenadine (Allegra) than