CEN23FA353

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and failure to maintain adequate airspeed during a steep turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at an altitude too low for recovery.

The pilot was conducting an aerial application flight when the accident occurred. The airplane was about ½ mile from the target field when witnesses saw it enter a steep turn, roll over, and spin to the ground. The airplane impacted terrain and a postimpact fire consumed part of the airplane. Examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The engine exhibited signs of rotation during impact. The propeller blades exhibited bending and twisting damage consistent with impact while rotating at moderate-to-high power and producing thrust at initial impact. Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack during a turn and the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall at an altitude too low for recovery.

On November 30, 2022, the pilot received a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) second class medical certificate. On the medical application, the pilot reported that his flight experience included 450 total flight hours and 150 hours in last 6 months. The pilot’s logbooks were not made available during the investigation. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the Office of the Jackson County Medical Examiner, Kansas City, Missouri, which listed the cause of death as “multiple blunt traumatic injuries and thermal burn injuries.” Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory found no drugs of abuse. On August 8, 2023, about 1150 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-802, N804AA, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Gilman City, Missouri. The pilot was fatally injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. A witness to the accident stated that he was driving south on State Highway K near the water tower when he first saw the airplane. The airplane was flying above him near the intersection of Highways K and B. The airplane appeared to be flying south, then turned east, and back to the north. Right before he turned his vehicle right on Highway B, the airplane started to turn “pretty aggressively.” As he drove west on the highway, he saw that the airplane “flipped and tumbled to the ground.” When he got to the airplane in the field, it was sitting at a downward angle toward the nose with heavy smoke and fire near the front of the airplane. He did not observe any smoke or fire from the airplane before it impacted the ground. He does not remember hearing the sound of the engine at any point during the flight. Another witness stated that she was driving south on State Highway K adjacent to the accident site. She saw the airplane “flip sideways” and stated that she wasn’t sure if it was a crop duster or an airplane performing aerobatics. She could not see the ground impact because of her position but saw smoke and shortly thereafter saw the airplane burning at the accident site. She did not remember hearing any engine noise from inside her vehicle. Her daughter, who was also in the vehicle, stated that she saw the airplane rapidly spinning like a corkscrew toward the ground. According to the airplane owner and operator, the pilot was spreading fertilizer on a nearby bean field, which is outlined in Figure 1. The accident site was about 0.5 nautical miles east of the target field. Figure 1. Google Earth view of the accident area with points of interest. The airplane impacted a bean field and came to rest upright, with all major airplane components identified at the accident site. A postimpact fire consumed a majority of the fuselage, hopper, and the inboard portion of the right wing. The empennage, left wing, and engine compartment sustained some fire damage and were relatively intact. The propeller and engine were partially embedded in the ground but remained attached to the engine mounts. All five propeller blades remained attached to the propeller hub and were found bent and twisted. The engine was attached to the engine mount and embedded in the ground. A strong smell of Jet-A fuel was present at the scene. The airplane was equipped with five-point AmSafe inflatable restraints (airbags). The harness webbing was consumed by fire. The five-point buckle was found fully latched. The airbag inflators were found under the cockpit floor and were fire damaged. The propeller blades exhibited compound bend and twist progression from forward to aft in the sequence of rotation. The propeller and engine components exhibited signs of rotation at impact. Examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The onboard SATLOC GPS and the compact flash card’s internal components sustained significant fire damage. The National Transportation Safety Board Vehicle Recorder’s Laboratory was unable to recover any data from the compact flash card.