ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 261856
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| Date: | Tuesday 18 May 2021 |
| Time: | 13:25 |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-502A |
| Owner/operator: | Ferriday Flying Service Inc |
| Registration: | N887LA |
| MSN: | 502A-2887 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2013 |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60AG |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Clayton, LA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Farriday, LA |
| Farriday, LA | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On May 18, 2021, about 1325 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502A airplane, N887LA, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Clayton, Louisiana. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight.
On the day of the accident, the pilot had already completed several aerial application flights and was in the process of spraying product on a target field. Witnesses stated that the airplane had just completed a spray pass and was turning around. During the turn, the airplane pitched up and rolled left into a steep bank. One witness stated that it looked like the pilot, “didn’t pull out of a barrel roll.” The airplane “fell out of the sky” and impacted the ground inverted. Data extracted from the airplane’s GPS failed to record the last 30 seconds of the flight, likely as a result of a recording latency. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not revealed any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot failing to maintain airplane control while maneuvering in the turn at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.
Although toxicology testing detected diphenhydramine, a sedating antihistamine, in the pilot’s urine, operational evidence of any impairment is inconclusive. Therefore, whether the pilot’s use of diphenhydramine contributed to the accident could not be determined from the available evidence.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s loss of airplane control resulting in an aerodynamic stall while executing a steep turnaround during an aerial application flight.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.natchezdemocrat.com/2021/05/19/ferriday-man-killed-in-plane-crash-tuesday-in-catahoula-parish/
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N887LA
https://www.airport-data.com/images/aircraft/001/314/001314946.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Media:
NTSB is investigating the May 18, 2021, crash of an Air Tractor AT-502 near Clayton, Louisiana. The NTSB is not traveling to the scene.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) May 18, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-May-2021 11:48 | Captain Adam | Added |
| 19-May-2021 12:16 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Phase, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 19-May-2021 16:24 | Anon. | Updated [Narrative] |
| 20-May-2021 21:43 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative] |
| 21-May-2021 06:38 | Anon. | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative] |
| 19-Aug-2022 21:36 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
| 19-Aug-2022 21:37 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
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