- Date
- February 18, 2005, 07:30 local (13:30 UTC)
- Place
- Avon, MS
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9114WAir Tractor AT-502B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050218001479A
- Case key
- 61048
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 failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering at a low altitude, resulting in an inadvertent stall/mush, and impact with terrain.
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 airplane impacted terrain while conducting aerial application operations. The pilot stated that he began a turn to the left, followed by another turn to the right, when all of a sudden, the airplane started sinking rapidly. He said he pushed the throttle and propeller controls all the way forward, but it did not do any good. The airplane continued to sink rapidly, and it impacted the ground, sliding about 75 yards and impacting a grain bin, before coming to rest. In April, 2005, a Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigator along with representatives from Pratt & Whitney, Canada, examined the accident airplane's engine and accessories at Pratt & Whitney Canada, Quebec, Canada. The examination revealed information consistent with the engine generating power at impact, and no anomalies were noted to exist.
Factual narrative
On February 18, 2005, about 0730 central standard time, an Air Tractor AT-502B, N9114W, registered to and operated by Longwood Flying Service as a Title 14 CFR part 137 agricultural application flight crashed into a field in Avon, Mississippi, while conducting aerial application operations. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The commercial-rated pilot received no injuries but the airplane incurred substantial damage. The flight originated in Avon, Mississippi, the same day, about 0700.
The pilot stated to the NTSB it was his first flight of the day, and was spraying a wheat field. He said he had about 275 to 300 gallons of spray, and about 225 gallons of fuel onboard the airplane, and had made about four or five passes. On the last pass, he said that as he flew the airplane to the east over trees, he then commenced a turn to the left, followed by another turn to the right, when all of a sudden, the airplane started sinking rapidly. He said he pushed the throttle and propeller controls all the way forward, but it did not do any good. The airplane continued to sink rapidly, and it impacted the ground, sliding about 75 yards and impacting a grain bin, before coming to rest.
On April 20-22, 2005, a Transportation Safety Board of Canada investigator along with representatives from Pratt & Whitney, Canada, examined the accident airplane engine and accessories at Pratt & Whitney Canada, Quebec, Canada. The examination revealed information consistent with the engine generating power at impact, and no anomalies were noted to exist with the engine or accessories.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9114W
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 502B-0558
- Airframe hours
- 3,667
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34AG, 750 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Longwood Flying Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 2004 · 568 hours before
- Departed
- Avon, MS
- Airport
- Private/Longwood
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
- 50
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 1, 2004
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 18,124 total · 9,000 in this make and model · 35 in the last 90 days · 35 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 30 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.30 inHg
- Observed at
- GWO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.