Belle Glade State Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Belle Glade, Florida 33430
Tuesady, April 8, 2003 7:45 EDT

Two Air Tractor airplanes collided on runway 9/27. One Air Tractor, N6037H was taking off to the east; the second one, N7318K, was landing to the west. The pilot of the first Air Tractor reported that on the day of the accident, there were 8 agricultural airplanes operating from the airport. The weather was good with a light wind from the southeast. Slight early morning haze was present; there was no fog. The east/west oriented runway does not have a parallel taxiway but there is a taxiway that runs north/south which intersects the runway. While taxiing north on the taxiway towards the runway before takeoff, he looked for approaching traffic from the east and west; he did not see any. He taxied onto the runway towards the approach end of runway 9 for his third flight than day. He began his takeoff roll and only observed the other airplane 3-4 seconds before the collision. The two airplanes collided and and there was immediate fire. He exited the right side of his airplane and within seconds, could not get to the other airplane as it was engulfed in flames. He reported the airplanes exploded 2 more times as he left the area. He did not report using the business radio; he was not injured. The owner of Glades Ag Services, Inc., verbally reported that the pilot of the second Air Tractor had completed his second aerial application flight of the day and had landed on runway 27, the landing was closer to the approach end of runway 27. A witness who was holding short of the runway in his airplane reported looking to the west and observed a Glades Ag Services, Inc., airplane accelerate to takeoff. He then looked to the east and observed an airplane which had already landed, taxiing on the runway. He observed the collision and immediately heard an explosion. A METAR weather observation taken at the Palm Beach International Airport on the day of the accident at 0753 (8 minutes after the accident) reported the wind was from 130 degrees at 10 knots, the visibility was 10 statute miles, few clouds existed at 2,400 feet, scattered clouds existed at 12,000 feet, a broken ceiling existed at 25,000 feet, the temperature and dew point were 25 and 21 degrees Celsius, respectively, and the altimeter setting was 30.09 inHg. Sun and Moon calculations indicate that the beginning of civil twilight occurred at 0643, and sunrise occurred at 0706. Neither airplane was equipped with very high frequency (VHF) radio, but each was equipped with a "business radio" that typically were set to a specific frequency. The owner of Glades Ag Services, Inc., reported that the pilots don't typically use them for takeoff or landing; it is used to relay information about a field. There was no record that either pilot used the business radio to transmit takeoff or landing intentions. The Belle Glade State Municipal Airport has one runway designated 09/27, which is 3,750 feet in length by 50 feet wide; there is no parallel taxiway at the airport.

The failure of both pilots to use on-board communication radios to advise takeoff and landing intentions, the reduction of visibility of the pilot-in-command of N6037H due to sun glare during takeoff, and the poor in-flight planning by the pilot-in-command of N7318K, for his intentional landing downwind.