# NTSB LAX02LA147: Air Tractor AT-802A, N90802, Kingman, AZ, May 2, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: May 1, 2002, 18:58 local (May 2, 2002, 01:58 UTC) - Place: Kingman, AZ - Coordinates: 35.265834, -113.941108 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.2658&lon=-113.9411&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 25, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration, Air Tractor, Inc. - NTSB case key (mKey): 54626 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=LAX02LA147 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/54626/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54626 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02LA147 ## Probable cause The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during landing. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - ground loop/swerve - encountered, pilot in command (cause) - Main gear collapsed, landing - roll - landing gear,main gear strut - overload - landing gear,main gear strut - fractured - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - runway ## Analysis The airplane ground looped during landing and the left main landing gear strut fractured and separated. The pilot told a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector that the landing gear strut collapsed unexpectedly, and without warning, during the landing roll, and the airplane ground looped to the right. It was not subjected to an abnormal load during landing and the airplane was relatively light with no chemical load aboard and about 1,300 pounds of fuel. The inspector examined the airplane and said the left landing gear leaf broke inside the saddle. There was rust and beach marks in the fracture face indicative of a pre-existing crack. The FAA inspector said the left landing gear strut, a single spring steel leaf, separated in the shoulder area where the strut enters the saddle at the fuselage skin line. The left landing gear wheel was broken in the outboard flange area and the tire was deflated. The tire exhibited deep radial scratch marks on the outboard side wall. The aileron hinge bracket at the left wing tip was bent inboard and striations on the left wing lower surface were oriented spanwise. The left wing outer half-span was bent upward accompanied by compression wrinkling of the upper wing skin. Examination of the fracture by a metallurgical laboratory revealed that the strut met the manufacturer's chemical, hardness, and materials specifications for the component. The fracture through the strut was characterized by two distinct modes. The first was 0.08 inches in depth and 0.37 inches in width and exhibited features consistent with fatigue. The fatigue crack had multiple initiation sites along the top surface in an area that had fretting damage. The remainder of the fracture face displayed gross overload features. According to the laboratory report, the transverse failure of the strut resulted from an overload condition, with high side and drag loads, well in excess of the design ultimate load for the component. ## Factual narrative On May 1, 2000, at 1858 Pacific daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-802A, N90802, main landing gear collapsed during landing roll at the Kingman, Arizona, airport. The airline transport certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The flight departed from Eagle Airpark, Bullhead City, Arizona, about 1840. The repositioning flight of the agricultural application aircraft was operated under 14 CFR Part 91 by Eagle Aviation. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The pilot told an inspector from the Federal Aviation Administration (Las Vegas, Nevada) Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) that the landing gear strut collapsed unexpectedly, and without warning, during the landing roll, and the airplane ground looped to the right. It was not subjected to an abnormal load during landing and the airplane was relatively light with no chemical load aboard and about 1,300 pounds of fuel. The inspector examined the airplane and said the left landing gear leaf broke inside the saddle. There was rust and beach marks in the fracture face indicative of a pre-existing crack. The model year 2000 airplane had about 1,100 hours total flying time and had recently received a 100-hour maintenance inspection; however, the inspector said the area where the crack occurred was difficult to inspect. The FSDO inspector said the left landing gear strut, a single spring steel leaf, separated in the shoulder area where the strut enters the saddle at the fuselage skin line. The left landing gear wheel was broken in the outboard flange area and the tire was deflated. The tire exhibited deep radial scratch marks on the outboard side wall. The aileron hinge bracket at the left wing tip was bent inboard and striations on the left wing lower surface were oriented spanwise. The left wing outer half-span was bent upward accompanied by compression wrinkling of the upper wing skin. Examination of the fracture by a metallurgical laboratory revealed that the strut met the manufacturer's chemical, hardness, and materials specifications for the component. The fracture through the strut was characterized by two distinct modes. The first was 0.08 inches in depth and 0.37 inches in width and exhibited features consistent with fatigue. The fatigue crack had multiple initiation sites along the top surface in an area that had fretting damage. The remainder of the fracture face displayed gross overload features. According to the laboratory report, the transverse failure of the strut resulted from an overload condition, with high side and drag loads, well in excess of the design ultimate load for the component. The complete metallurgical report is in the docket for this accident. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N90802](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N90802), registered now, S/N 802A-0092, built 2000 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Air Tractor AT-802A - Registry model: [Air Tractor AT-802A](https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-802a) (registry code 0390308) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney PT6A series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (registry code 52034, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 92 - Airframe hours: 1107 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-65 750 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Positioning, Part 91 - Registered owner: William R. Dare - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: Annual, March 1, 2002, 33 hours before - Departed: A09, Bullhead City, AZ - Destination: IGM, Kingman, AZ - Airport: IGM, Kingman, runway 21, 6,831 × 150 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 56; injuries: none; airline transport, commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane, helicopter; medical: class 2; last flight review May 1, 2001; seat: single; flight hours: 30,000 total, 200 in this make and model, 28,000 as pilot in command, 95 in the last 90 days, 40 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 220° at 10 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 63 °F, dew point 16 °F - Altimeter: 29.81 inHg - Observed at: IGM ## 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 20020501012549A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020501012549A), May 1, 2002: Airtrc AT802A, Kingman, AZ, No damage. (-23) The pilot stated that after touchdown, on landing roll at approximately 45 mph, the pilot placed the propeller selector in the reverse position and… ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 19, 2006, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=54626. 1.3 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 254 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40244274&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Materials Analysis, Inc. Report (item 2, .PDF, 735 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40436450&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Materials%20Analysis,%20Inc.%20Report-Redacted.PDF - Statement of Party Representatives to NTSB Investigation (item 3, .PDF, 269 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40244277&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Party%20Representatives%20to%20NTSB%20Investigation-Redacted.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.