Tri-County Air Service Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Raywood, Texas 77582
Tuesady, June 3, 2003 9:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane collided with trees while departing from a private grass airstrip. The departure surface was a grass strip that stretched about 2,000 feet long, with trees located at the end. The Airplane Flight Manual for the AT-502A states that 10 degrees of flaps should be set for takeoff. The pilot reported that his takeoff procedure consisted of starting the takeoff roll with the wing flaps in the retracted position until rotation, where he would he would start the initial climb by pulling back on the control stick while simultaneously lowering the flaps to the 10-degree extended position. The pilot stated that he used this procedure in an effort to decrease the ground roll. Following his procedure, the pilot applied full engine power and the airplane started the takeoff roll down the grass strip. As the airplane's groundspeed increased, he moved the flap control to extend the wing flaps and rotated the airplane to a nose high attitude. The airplane lifted off the grass surface, but the wing flaps failed to extend. The airplane climbed to about 15 feet, flew down the runway in ground effect, and collided with tree branches, then descended into the terrain. During an examination of the cockpit, a Federal Aviation Administration inspector observed the flap circuit breaker to be in the "out" position. The airplane's manufacturer stated that applying the wing flaps after starting the departure roll is an improper takeoff procedure. The manufacturer further stated that the drag created by the wing flaps at 10 degrees is negligible during takeoff roll phase of operation, and keeping them retracted will not decrease the takeoff distance by a measurable amount. An examination of the flap system failed to find a problem with the system operation or determine why the circuit breaker was in the open position.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's encounter with a stall/mush condition in the takeoff initial climb due to his inadequate preflight/pretakeoff procedures and failure to set the wing flaps to the proper takeoff configuration before beginning the takeoff ground roll.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 6/3/2003
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 930
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Raywood
Event State TEXAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 77582
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 6
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 300000N
Event Location Longitude 0943300W
Event Location Airport Tri-County Air Service Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID XS58
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0.25
Degrees magnetic from airport 170
Airport Elevation 70
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 953 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 270
Weather Observation Facility ID IAH
Elevation of weather observation facility 97
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 34
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 1700
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 29
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 24
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.79
Density Altitude (feet) 2245
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 22745
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Jun 3 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1230
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 30 2007 3:42PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\lema
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office HOU FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N948BB
NTSB Number LAX03LA180
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Air Tractor
Aircraft Model AT-502A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 502A-0478
Certified Max Gross Weight 8000
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 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 1 2003 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 75.8
Airframe Hours 3184.7
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name M&M Air Service of Beaumont, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 12895 Highway 124
Aircraft Owner City Beaumont
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 77052
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
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 NPFG
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code XS58
Departure City Raywood
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 930
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 - roll/run
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 26 2007 2:14PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 2200
Runway Width 90
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --