- Date
- May 17, 2019, 13:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Stuttgart, AR
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5675XAyres S 2R
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Aerodynamic stall/spin
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 3, 2020
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20190517004769A
- Case key
- 99454
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 exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack while maneuvering during an agricultural application flight, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that, while turning the airplane after finishing a fertilizer application, the "wind was under the wing pushing [the airplane]." He tried to "pull the aircraft out of the turn," but it aerodynamically stalled. He returned the stick to neutral, and while regaining control, the left main landing gear (MLG) and wingtip struck the ground, which caused the landing gear to bend underneath the wing. The airplane bounced, and the pilot decided to return to the departure airport. During landing, he attempted to keep the left MLG off the ground as long as possible, but the left wing impacted the ground, and the airplane exited the runway to the left. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot of the agricultural application airplane reported that, while turning after finishing a fertilizer run, the "wind was under the wing pushing [him]." He tried to "pull the aircraft out of the turn", but the airplane aerodynamically stalled. He returned the stick to neutral, and while regaining control, the left main landing gear and wing tip struck the ground, which caused the landing gear to bend underneath the wing. The airplane bounced back into the air and the pilot decided to return to the departure airport. During landing on an abandoned runway, he attempted to keep the left main landing gear off the ground as long as possible, until the left wing impacted the ground and the airplane exited the runway to the left. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5675X
- Reported as
- Ayres S 2R (Undesignat)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2402R
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 8,586.44
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Farmers Aerial Seeders
- Registered owner
- Farmers Aerial Seeders
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 22, 2019
- Departed
- SGT · Stuttgart, AR
- Destination
- SGT · Stuttgart, AR
- Airport
- SGT · Stuttgart Municipal Carl Humph
- Equipment
- None
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
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 1, 2019
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 4-point
- Flight hours
- 540.2 total · 14 in this make and model · 462.7 as pilot in command · 7.5 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 17 knots, gusting 21
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.93 inHg
- Observed at
- SGT
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 5, 2019, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.0 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N5675X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.