Homestead Farms Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Pond Creek, Oklahoma 73766
Thursday, April 18, 1996 17:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, he had routinely flown off the 2,800 foot runway with a similar load; however, on this takeoff, the airplane was not airborne at the usual place. The pilot attempted to dump the chemical load, but he missed the dump handle. After reaching the end of the runway, the airplane became airborne, crossed a ravine where the ground dropped off approximately 30 feet into a creek bed, and impacted terrain on the far side of the creek. The pilot reported that he normally followed the manufacturer's recommended short field takeoff procedure, which called for the use of a 10 degree flap setting; however, he indicated that he might not have used the flaps on the accident flight.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's improper planning/decision and failure to obtain/maintain sufficient airspeed to climb after takeoff, which resulted in a stall/mush and subsequent collision with terrain. Factors relating to the accident were: failure of the pilot to follow short field takeoff procedures, and his delay in jettisoning the chemical load.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/18/1996
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1700
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City POND CREEK
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 73766
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport HOMESTEAD FARMS
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OK72
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1030
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 0
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 300
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 8
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 246
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 18 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 2309
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 9:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6050D
NTSB Number FTW96LA177
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Air Tractor
Aircraft Model AT-502B
Aircraft Series Identifier AT-502B
Aircraft Serial Number 502B-0254
Certified Max Gross Weight 9400
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 726
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name HOMESTEAD LEASING INC.
Aircraft Owner Street Address ROUTE 2 BOX 10
Aircraft Owner City POND CREEK
Aircraft Owner State OK
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 73766
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name HOMESTEAD FARMS FLYING SERVICE
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code TJDG
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not Unknown
Indicates Domestic or International Flight Unknown
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail Unknown
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OK72
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 35
Runway Length 2800
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --