- Date
- August 22, 1994, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Lazbuddie, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N4360SAir Tractor AT-301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 27, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940822022649A
- Case key
- 19146
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 premature liftoff and the resultant stall during takeoff. A factor was the density altitude.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The flight had departed the airstrip earlier that day with the same load. On this flight the temperature was up to 93 degrees fahrenheit with a calculated density altitude of 6,500 feet. The pilot reported the wind was gusty and almost a direct crosswind. On takeoff, the airplane climbed approximately 6 feet above the ground, then settled back onto the runway. The pilot then aborted the takeoff by shutting the engine down. The airplane hit a fence and came to rest inverted in a field adjacent to the runway.
Factual narrative
On August 22, 1994, at 1400 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-301, N4360S, was substantially damaged during takeoff near Lazbuddie, Texas. The commercial pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local aerial application flight.
The flight had departed the airstrip earlier that day with the same load. On this flight the temperature was up to 93 degrees Fahrenheit with a calculated density altitude of 6,500 feet. According to the pilot, the wind was gusty, almost a direct crosswind, as the aircraft lifted off, climbed approximately 6 feet above the ground and then settled back onto the runway.
The pilot "shut the engine down" and the airplane rolled into a fence at the departure end of the runway and came to rest inverted in a field adjacent to the runway. The FAA Inspector reported damage to the engine, engine mount, firewall, and wings. According to the pilot's enclosed report, there were no mechanical malfunctions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4360S
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0040
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Walker, John N.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Destination
- TX
- Airport
- runway 27, 2,000 × 20 ft, dirt
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
- 33
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Flight engineer, Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 3,400 total · 301 in this make and model · 3,000 as pilot in command · 213 in the last 90 days · 112 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 12 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.