- Date
- August 29, 2007, 22:00 local (Aug 30, 2007, 05:00 UTC)
- Place
- Salome, AZ
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N8521ZAir Tractor AT-502B
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20070829023489A
- Case key
- 66547
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 inadequate compensation for the tailwind condition and failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll/run, which resulted in a ground loop.
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
According to the pilot, during the downwind takeoff on Runway 27 "...the tail came up at the 'normal spot' then went back down. I wasn't going to get airborne by the end of the airstrip and attempted to stop the airplane." The pilot stated that the airplane then ground looped with the left wing contacting the ground, turning the airplane 180 degrees and coming to rest upright facing the southeast. Damage to left wing included both the front and rear spars being bent. The pilot reported that the airstrip is a one-way strip running east and west, with takeoffs to the west only. The pilot reported that the wind at the time of the accident was from 135 degrees magnetic estimated at 10 knots, with gusts estimated at 20 knots.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, during the downwind takeoff on Runway 27 "...the tail came up at the 'normal spot' then went back down. I wasn't going to get airborne by the end of the airstrip and attempted to stop the airplane." The pilot stated that the airplane then ground looped with the left wing contacting the ground, turning the airplane 180 degrees and coming to rest upright facing the southeast. Damage to left wing included both the front and rear spars being bent. The pilot reported that the airstrip is a one-way strip running east and west, with takeoffs to the west only. The pilot reported that the wind at the time of the accident was from 135 degrees magnetic estimated at 10 knots, with gusts estimated at 20 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8521Z
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 502B-0693
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34AG, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Thomas A Wood
- Registered owner
- Thomas A Wood
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- Salome, AZ
- Airport
- NONE · Vicksburg Farms Airstrip, runway 27, 2,600 × 100 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
- 64
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 17,000 total · 5,000 in this make and model · 150 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 135° at 10 knots, gusting 20
- Temperature
- 100 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.