ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 282821
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| Date: | Monday 12 September 2022 |
| Time: | 09:50 |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-502B |
| Owner/operator: | Arty's Air Service Ltd |
| Registration: | C-FJVL |
| MSN: | 502B-3021 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2015 |
| Engine model: | PWC PT6A-34AG |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Donalda, AB -
 Canada
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Bawlf (Blackwells) Airport, AB (CFR2) |
| Bawlf (Blackwells) Airport, AB (CFR2) | |
| Investigating agency: | TSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On 12 September 2022, the pilot of the Arty’s Air Service Ltd. Air Tractor, Inc. (Air Tractor) AT-502B aircraft (registration C-FJVL, serial number 502B-3021) was planning to conduct a series of aerial application flights from Bawlf (Blackwells) Aerodrome (CFR2), Alberta. The pilot was met at the aerodrome by the mixer/loader at 0800. They held a briefing of the day’s activity and then the mixer/loader added fuel and herbicide to the aircraft. At the time of takeoff, the aircraft had 117 U.S. gallons (½ tank) of fuel and 450 U.S. gallons of chemical mixture. in the hopper tank.
At 0850, the occurrence aircraft departed CFR2 and proceeded 18 nautical miles (NM) south, to the field that was to be sprayed. After circling the field to inspect for hazards, the pilot sprayed the field in a consistent north–south pattern until the entire field had been sprayed. He then did 2 full east–west passes to cover off the ends of the field. All of the turns conducted during the application of chemical mixture were left turns and were consistent with altitude gains of ±300 feet above ground level (AGL). On the third-to-last turn in the middle of the field, the pilot conducted a right course reversal with a tight radius and a steep climb, resulting in an altitude increase of more than 500 feet AGL.
After this course reversal, the pilot did one more pass on the south end of the field followed by a large radius turn to the left and then descended and headed to the southwest corner of the field. An observer, who had been watching the entire field being sprayed from his vehicle parked mid-field on Township Road 420A, saw the aircraft pull up into what he considered the start of a normal climb on a westerly heading, just east of some power lines running on the east side of Range Road 190. The climb was then observed getting steeper than the previous climbs until the aircraft appeared to stop, the nose dropped, and the aircraft began to roll to the right. The aircraft struck the centre of Range Road 190, just south of the intersection with Township Road 420A, in a vertical, nose-down, attitude. The crash was not survivable. The aircraft was destroyed on impact. The emergency locator transmitter activated. There was no fire.
In order to sustain flight, an aircraft’s wing must create the required amount of lift. Lift is partly related to the speed of the aircraft and the angle of attack between the wing to the relative airflow. If speed is reduced, such as during a steep climb, the angle of attack must be increased to generate the required lift. An aerodynamic stall occurs when the wing’s angle of attack exceeds the critical angle at which the smooth airflow begins to separate from the wing. When a wing stalls, the airflow breaks away from the upper surface, and the amount of lift generated is reduced to below that needed to support the aircraft.
The speed at which a stall occurs can vary as it is also related to the load factor of the manoeuvre being performed. The load factor is defined as the ratio of the aerodynamic load acting on the wings to the aircraft’s gross weight, and represents a measure of the stress (or load) on the structure of the aircraft. By convention, the load factor is expressed in g because of the perceived acceleration due to gravity felt by an occupant in an aircraft.
In straight and level flight, lift is equal to weight, and the load factor is 1g. In a banked level turn, however, greater lift is required. It can be achieved, in part, by increasing the angle of attack (by pulling back on the elevator control), which increases the load factor. As the load factor increases with bank angle, there is a corresponding increase in the speed at which a stall occurs. As a result, the manoeuvre is often accomplished with the addition of engine power to maintain airspeed. A stall that occurs as a result of a high load factor, such as bank angle increased beyond 30°, is called an accelerated stall.
Accelerated stalls, which occur at higher airspeed due to the increased load factor on the wing, are usually more severe than unaccelerated stalls and are often unexpected. As an example, a stall from a 60° or 70° bank will result in an aggressive departure from controlled flight that will result in the aircraft rapidly losing altitude.
Pilots are reminded that performing course reversals with steep climbs and bank angles greater than 45° increases the likelihood of an aerodynamic stall, which could lead to a spin. Encountering a stall or spin at low altitudes can result in a collision with terrain when there is insufficient altitude available to recover the aircraft.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/2/CCARCS-RIACC/ADet.aspx?id=527832&rfr=RchSimp.aspx
TSB
https://globalnews.ca/news/9123518/donalda-crop-duster-plane-crash/
https://www.lacombeexpress.com/news/plane-crashes-near-donalda/
https://globalnews.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/305434363_625887872268639_3739246827169417558_n.jpg?w=2048 (photo)
Images:
Photo: TSB Canada
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 12-Sep-2022 22:23 | Geno | Added |
| 13-Sep-2022 00:15 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Location, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 13-Sep-2022 02:52 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 13-Sep-2022 17:09 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 14-Sep-2022 02:54 | johnwg | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 16-Sep-2022 14:31 | harro | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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