History of Flight
On October 24, 2017, at about 0820 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502B (registration N502G) impacted a field approximately 5 miles west of Olton, Texas. The pilot sustained serious injuries, and the airplane was destroyed by a post-impact fire. The aircraft was operated by King Ag Aviation Inc. and registered to GB Aerial Applications Inc., conducting an aerial application flight under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions were present at the time of the accident; no flight plan had been filed. The flight departed Fairview Field Airport (XA05) in Sudan, Texas, at 0748.
Several witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying overhead, but only one witnessed the accident sequence. The witness stated that the airplane was flying north over highway 70 at about 300 ft above ground level (agl) and made a left turn toward the west. During the turn, the airplane descended, struck a field, and erupted in flames. A large white trailer in the field obstructed the witness's view of the final impact. No smoke or fire was observed emanating from the airplane before the impact.
The pilot was transported by helicopter to a hospital in Lubbock, Texas.
Personnel Information
At the time of the accident, the pilot was employed by King Ag Aviation, the operator of the airplane. A review of the pilot's logbook indicated he had obtained a high-performance airplane endorsement on February 11, 2016. He logged 303.5 hours in an Air Tractor 502 (N89MG) between July 16, 2017, and August 15, 2017. He accumulated 93.6 hours in the accident airplane (N502G) between August 25, 2017, and September 10, 2017. The final logbook entry was dated October 19, 2017, documenting a flight review in a Cessna 172, which included 1.1 hours, two simulated instrument approaches, four day landings, and four night landings.
Prior employment from March 2016 to June 2017 involved flying Air Tractor AT-301 and AT-400 aircraft for another agricultural aerial application company. The owner of that company described the pilot's abilities as "OK" and stated the pilot was terminated for insubordination. Another company pilot reported that the accident pilot was known to make very tight turns after spray passes and had been cautioned by the owner and senior pilots. The owner also noted an incident where the pilot departed with a frost-obscured windscreen and nearly collided with a stationary airplane.
Aircraft Information
On October 10, 2017, a 100-hour inspection was completed at an airframe total time of 7,917.2 hours. The maintenance logbook noted that the header fuel tank was removed and replaced with a new tank from Air Tractor, which was tested for leaks with no defects found.
Wreckage and Impact
According to the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the airplane came to rest facing south. A post-impact fire consumed most of the fuselage and inboard sections of the wings. Impact marks indicated the airplane struck the ground in a nose-low, vertical attitude and then came to rest upright. The engine was buried in mud, and only one propeller blade was visible.
Examination revealed the forward fuselage and engine compartment were crushed aft. Leading edges of both wings were crushed aft to the main spar along the entire span, with outboard portions showing chordwise crushing and buckling. The inboard wing sections containing fuel tanks were consumed by fire.
The pilot's seat frame remained intact and connected to the fuselage seat rails. All mounting points of the four-point harness were installed, but the webbing was consumed by fire, and the buckle assemblies were found unclasped. The pilot's helmet showed no abnormal wear or damage.
The empennage and control surfaces were intact before recovery. Elevators remained attached to horizontal stabilizers, and trim tabs were in place. Flight control cables were traced; elevator and rudder controls were continuous except for fire-consumed portions. Aileron controls exhibited multiple tension overload separations. No preimpact flight control anomalies were identified.
A portion of the flap actuator assembly was found with the actuator shaft extended to a position corresponding to 22° of flap extension. The engine and propeller remained attached and sustained impact and fire damage. The cockpit engine control quadrant was fire-damaged, but all three push-pull cables were attached and traceable without anomalies; preimpact engine control positions could not be determined.
The propeller spinner showed torsional deformation and spiral scoring. Two of three propeller blades remained attached; the third was found in debris. Blade A fractured from the hub and its tip; Blade B was bent forward and rotated toward high pitch; Blade C exhibited slight bending, twisting, and leading-edge gouges. All blades had chordwise abrasions near leading edges, and counterweights were in similar positions. No blades were bent aft remarkably.
Additional Information
The AT-502B Airplane Flight Manual section on agricultural flying advises smooth power application during pull-ups and coordinated turns, noting that flap deflections of 5° to 8° may be used as a turning aid. Extending more than recommended flaps allows tighter turns but reduces pitch stability and control effectiveness at lower airspeeds.
The airplane owners stated that typical procedures involved using a smoke line to judge wind direction between spray passes. They calculated from the pilot's worksheets that turnaround times were 8 to 10 seconds, compared to a normal 30-second turn, suggesting the pilot was making very fast, tight turns, possibly using flaps or hammerhead-type maneuvers.
Data from a Garmin aera500 handheld GPS recovered from the wreckage showed the airplane circled over the target field and made four east-west spray passes. The final data point was at 08:12:33 CDT at 189 ft agl and 95 knots. The recorded turns averaged 20.5 seconds (24, 18, 22, and 18 seconds), with peak altitudes between 369 and 500 ft agl. Standard turnaround in an AT-502B is about 30 seconds with peak altitude of 250–300 ft agl. The GPS data did not capture the final northbound segment near the accident site as reported by witnesses.
Medical and pathological information: The pilot died in the hospital on December 3, 2017, due to health complications resulting from the accident injuries.