Skip to content

CEN24LA216

2024-06-06 · Perryton, Texas, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Current FAA registration · N45123

Make / Model
AIR TRACTOR INC AT-402
Engine
P&W PT6A SERIES (500 hp)
Seats / Engines
1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19900503
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A5788D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during a low-level turn, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control at too low of an altitude to recover.

Factual narrative

The operator reported the pilot had completed the low-level aerial application work of applying liquid chemical to a grass field and the hopper was empty. During a right-hand turn, the pilot “turned too hard,” the airplane exceeded its critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control at an altitude too low to allow for recovery. The airplane came to rest upright in a wheat field, a postimpact fire ensued, and the pilot was able to egress from the cockpit. The airplane was destroyed by the postimpact fire. The operator reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Capability exceeded
  • — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Task monitoring/vigilance-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-(general)-Damaged/degraded
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-(general)-Design

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_CEN24LA216.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (stall). All research papers