What happened
On 12 June 2018, an Air Tractor AT-802, registration EC-GVN, crashed into the Mediterranean Sea near the municipality of Pollença, Mallorca. The aircraft, operated by Martínez Ridao Aviación, S.L., was conducting a scheduled aerial observation and surveillance flight for the Nature Institute of the Balearic Islands (IBANAT). The mission was part of the regional firefighting assets used to monitor the Tramuntana Mountains.
The flight departed from Son Bonet aerodrome at 17:20 under visual flight rules (VFR). During the mission, the pilot maintained normal radio contact with a coordination aircraft. However, as the aircraft reached the end of its planned route and began its return, the flight path deviated significantly from the established pattern, heading northwest toward the sea. Approximately 44 minutes after takeoff, the aircraft impacted the water. The impact resulted in one fatality (the pilot) and the total destruction of the aircraft.
The investigation
The CIAIAC investigation utilized data recovered from an on-board GPS device to reconstruct the aircraft's final flight segments. The analysis focused on a 23.5-km stretch from Cape Formentor to the point of impact. Investigators examined the aircraft wreckage, which was located three days later at a depth of 60 meters.
Technical analysis of the GPS data revealed that the aircraft was initially climbing at approximately 414 ft/min. However, in the final 12 seconds of recorded flight, the aircraft executed an aggressive maneuver characterized by a sharp descent and a steep right roll. The investigation also evaluated potential external factors, such as a bird strike; however, evidence regarding the local vulture population and the flight path did not support a bird strike as a likely cause.
Findings
- The aircraft was operating with a valid certificate of airworthiness and the pilot was fully qualified for the mission.
- Weather conditions were favorable and not limiting to the flight.
- The aircraft's flight path deviated from the planned route, moving approximately 2,330 meters out to sea.
- The final seconds of flight involved a sudden, aggressive descent and a coordinated roll.
- The wreckage analysis indicated the aircraft impacted the water in a downward attitude with the engine at low power.
- The loss of visual references over the open sea may have contributed to the difficulty of maintaining controlled flight during the descent.