ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 269627
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| Date: | Tuesday 16 November 2021 |
| Time: | 18:36 |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-802AF |
| Owner/operator: | Colorado Fire Aviation |
| Registration: | N802NZ |
| MSN: | 802A-0593 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2015 |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67F |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Estes Park, CO -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Fire fighting |
| Departure airport: | Fort Collins/Loveland-Northern Colorado Regional Airport, CO (FNL/KFNL) |
| Fort Collins/Loveland-Northern Colorado Regional Airport, CO (FNL/KFNL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On November 16, 2021, about 1836 mountain standard time, an Air Tractor Inc. AT-802A, N802NZ, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Estes Park, Colorado. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial firefighting flight.
The aerial firefighting flight was approaching the intended drop location when the airplane rolled inverted, descended, and impacted terrain. The airplane wreckage displayed features of a low-speed, nose-down impact with the engine producing power. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. Recorded data showed decreasing indicated airspeed and increasing engine power toward the end of the flight. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.
The accident site was located on the eastern slope of a high mountain range, and west winds gusting to near 30 knots were reported near the time of the accident. An animation of satellite imagery showed that most of the clouds west and east of the accident site did not propagate eastward with time with the mean wind but remained relatively stationary, which was consistent with mountain wave activity. Low cloud bands immediately south of the accident also remained relatively stationary and were likely rotor clouds, a type of cloud associated with severe or greater turbulence. It is likely the airplane encountered severe to extreme low altitude turbulence associated with rotor clouds, which resulted in the loss of control.
Probable Cause: The airplane’s encounter with severe to extreme turbulence associated with mountain wave rotor cloud activity, which resulted in loss of airplane control.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://kdvr.com/news/local/reports-plane-crash-near-kruger-rock-fire/
https://coloradosun.com/2021/11/16/firefighting-aircraft-crash-estes-park-colorado/
https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/air-tanker-crashes-kruger-rock-fire/73-77e124e6-804d-424f-8405-0634ec9f2b73
https://wildfiretoday.com/2021/11/17/night-flying-air-tanker-crashes-while-working-on-wildfire-in-colorado/
https://www.denverpost.com/2021/12/01/ntsb-preliminary-report-kruger-rock-plane-crash/
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/NNumberResult?NNumberTxt=802NZ
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N802NZ
https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=aaea8f&lat=40.336&lon=-105.473&zoom=13.5&showTrace=2021-11-17&leg=1
https://airtractor.com/aircraft/at-802f-fire-boss/
http://cofireaviation.com/
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 17-Nov-2021 04:13 | Geno | Added |
| 17-Nov-2021 04:26 | Geno | Updated [Time, Registration, Cn, Source, Narrative] |
| 17-Nov-2021 07:56 | Aerossurance | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Other fatalities, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 17-Nov-2021 08:55 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 17-Nov-2021 14:05 | Captain Adam | Updated [Registration, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Nov-2021 07:35 | johnwg | Updated [Aircraft type, Destination airport, Source, Category] |
| 19-Nov-2021 06:48 | Anon. | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 19-Nov-2021 06:48 | harro | Updated [Aircraft type] |
| 01-Dec-2021 10:12 | Anon. | Updated [Category] |
| 02-Dec-2021 05:24 | Geno | Updated [Source, Damage] |
| 06-Dec-2021 22:35 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Narrative] |
| 16-Nov-2022 09:19 | Ron Averes | Updated [Operator] |
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