Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Aerodynamic Stall / Spin: Air Tractor AT-602, N602SS; accident occurred September 07, 2019 in Turkey, Hall County, Texas

View of inverted airplane in field. 
Federal Aviation Administration 


Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Lubbock, Texas

Aviation Accident Factual Report - National Transportation Safety Board: https://app.ntsb.gov/pdf 


Investigation Docket - National Transportation Safety Board: https://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms

https://registry.faa.gov/N602SS


Location: TURKEY, TX
Accident Number: GAA19CA535
Date & Time: 09/07/2019, 1930 CDT
Registration: N602SS
Aircraft: Air Tractor AT 602
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Aerodynamic stall/spin
Injuries: 1 Minor, 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General Aviation - Personal 

The pilot reported, that while maneuvering at a low altitude in an aerial applicator airplane, he dumped about 350 gallons of pink water for a gender reveal. The airplane "got too slow", aerodynamically stalled, impacted terrain, and came to rest inverted.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, right wing, and empennage.

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported that the accident occurred during a low pass for a gender reveal celebration. He added that there were two persons on board the single seat airplane.

Pilot Information

Certificate: Flight Instructor; Commercial
Age: 49, Male
Airplane Rating(s): Multi-engine Land; Single-engine Land; Single-engine Sea
Seat Occupied:Single 
Other Aircraft Rating(s): None
Restraint Used:
Instrument Rating(s): Airplane
Second Pilot Present: No
Instructor Rating(s): Airplane Multi-engine; Airplane Single-engine; Instrument Airplane
Toxicology Performed: No
Medical Certification: Class 2 With Waivers/Limitations
Last FAA Medical Exam: 06/28/2019
Occupational Pilot: Yes
Last Flight Review or Equivalent: 01/17/2019
Flight Time:  (Estimated) 14000 hours (Total, all aircraft), 8000 hours (Total, this make and model), 150 hours (Last 90 days, all aircraft)

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Air Tractor
Registration: N602SS
Model/Series: AT 602 No Series
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Year of Manufacture: 2012
Amateur Built: No
Airworthiness Certificate: Restricted
Serial Number: 602-1222
Landing Gear Type: Tailwheel
Seats: 1
Date/Type of Last Inspection:  Annual
Certified Max Gross Wt.: 12500 lbs
Time Since Last Inspection:
Engines: 1 Turbo Prop
Airframe Total Time: 2000 Hours
Engine Manufacturer: P&W Canada
ELT: Installed
Engine Model/Series: PT6A-65AG
Registered Owner: Horan Spraying Llc
Rated Power:
Operator: Horan Spraying Llc
Operating Certificate(s) Held: Agricultural Aircraft (137)

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: Visual Conditions
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KCDS, 1951 ft msl
Distance from Accident Site: 30 Nautical Miles
Observation Time: 0053 UTC
Direction from Accident Site: 87°
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Visibility:  10 Miles
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility (RVR):
Wind Speed/Gusts: 7 knots /
Turbulence Type Forecast/Actual: None / None
Wind Direction: 170°
Turbulence Severity Forecast/Actual: N/A / N/A
Altimeter Setting: 29.9 inches Hg
Temperature/Dew Point: 32°C / 14°C 
Precipitation and Obscuration: No Obscuration; No Precipitation
Departure Point:
Type of Flight Plan Filed: Unknown
Destination:
Type of Clearance: Unknown
Departure Time:
Type of Airspace: Class G

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: 1 Minor
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Minor, 1 None

Latitude, Longitude: 34.400000, -100.887222 (est)



It's a tale of another gender reveal going wrong -- very wrong.

Raj Horan was flying his 2013 AT-602 Air Tractor, a single-seat crop duster, near Turkey on Sept. 7 for a gender reveal, according to a report filed with the NTSB.

Horan was to fly low over the designated spot and dump 625 gallons of pink water into the air -- revealing to those gathered below the impending arrival of a little girl.

As Horan approached, he slowed and trimmed the aircraft. He told the NTSB when he started dumping the water, the airplane began to stall and that he could not get it back.

The stall caused the plane to lose altitude, hit the ground and roll over. It eventually came to rest inverted on the ground. According to the NTSB report, the plane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, right wing, and empennage.

Horan was not injured in the crash but a passenger in the single-seat aircraft did suffer minor injuries. In a follow-up conversation in late October, the NTSB inspector reported that he thought he pilot moved to the right and the passenger was sitting on the edge of the seat on the left side.

Horan told the NTSB there were no pre-accident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

There were no injuries or damage to anyone on the ground, according to the NTSB report.

Turkey is located about 75 miles northeast of Lubbock. Horan's plane is registered to an airfield in Plainview about 45 miles southwest of Turkey.

Last month, an Iowa woman was killed by a flying piece of debris from an explosion during a gender reveal gone wrong. An earlier gender reveal mishap last year was blamed for starting a fire that burned nearly 47,000 acres and left $8 million in damage, NBC News also reported.

https://www.nbcdfw.com





HALL COUNTY, Texas (KFDA) - One person has been hospitalized after a plane crash near Turkey over the weekend.

According to the Turkey Volunteer Fire Department and EMS, two people were involved in a plane crash near Turkey on September 7th.

The crash happened around 7:30 p.m. around six miles southwest of Turkey.

According to DPS, Raj Horan from Plainview and a female passenger from Plainview were flying in an Air Tractor AT-602 when it went down for an unknown reason.

Horan was not injured in the crash, and the passenger was transported to Lubbock with non-life threatening injuries.

Hall County deputies and DPS troopers were on the scene and notified the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Federal Aviation Administration will continue the investigation.

Original article can be found here ➤ https://www.kcbd.com

8 comments:

  1. They barely have room for one! Lucky to survive that one; plane looks pretty bad.

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  2. Looks very crumpled wonder what really happened to get into that state ? lucky to get out of that one alive.

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  3. Way too many hours for that kind of BS

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  4. People have too much time and money on their hands, obviously. And a disproportionate sense of how important their personal life events are to everyone else. “Hey everyone come learn what genitals my baby has!” Why do we have to order the whole world by gender?

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  5. You can thank social media for all this kind of nonsense. People are always trying to come up with ways to continually out-do each other and lack of common sense runs rampant. The pilot should have known better but money talks.

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  6. I think we're all in agreement here how incredibly stupid this was ... two people in the single seat, etc. It's also incredible and fortunate and absolutely lucky that these two basically walked away unharmed. Just unbelievable.

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  7. Havent flown a 602 Airtractor but other spray planes have a high degree of nose up pitch when your dumping a huge amount of weight...like 5000 lbs in a matter of seconds for this one, if your not ready for it even with stick full fwd the plane will pitch up violently. Factor in the woman passenger sitting on the L/H side apparently and you lose the ability to close the dump gate handle which takes considerable force with that much water/weight pouring out. Always Always have passenger sit on R/H side and maybe dump 1/2 load next time :)

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  8. Always Always have passenger sit on R/H side and maybe dump 1/2 load next time ;)
    Huh? Is this commentator for real? I have done stupid things in a flying career of 40+ years, but never doing stupid stunts with a PASSENGER in a SINGLE SEAT aircraft !
    I sure do hope that this comment was a joke. I try to atone for my stunts - I was lucky to retire with over 22000 hours logged acident-free - by confessing to them. Hoping that it would discourage others.
    NOT NOT by giving hints or instructions how the next time someone might get away with it !

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