NTSB ERA20CA231 — 2020-06-29 · South Bay, Florida, United States

Current FAA registration · N42190

Make / Model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-502B
Engine: P&W CANADA PT6A-34AG (750 hp)
Seats / Engines: 1 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 20100512
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A50302

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N42190 Air Tractor AT502 None

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's loss of airplane control during the approach, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and impact with vegetation and terrain.

Factual narrative

The pilot was performing an aerial application flight, and after distributing dry fertilizer he entered a downwind approach to land on a dirt road next to the field he was spraying. During a 180° turn to line up with the road, the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall. He added power, levelled the wings, deployed the flaps, and recovered from the stall; however, the airplane was too low and its landing gear struck sugar cane in the field. The airplane subsequently impacted the ground, and the fuselage and empennage were substantially damaged. The operator reported there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Angle of attack-Not attained/maintained
— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA20CA231.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

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Related research

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