Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marvell, Arkansas 72366
Wednesday, July 12, 2006 11:11 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The 17,000-hour commercial pilot was attempting to depart from a private grass airstrip in a turbine powered single-engine agricultural airplane with a full load of chemicals on a local aerial application flight. During the initial takeoff and climb to the east, the airplane's landing gear collided with a levy at the departure end of the 3,000-foot long airstrip, and the airplane subsequently impacted the ground. There was no fire and the pilot was able to egress the airplane without injury. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, reported the airplane sustained structural damage during the impact with terrain. The pilot reported to the inspector that he had accumulated approximately 4,000 hours in the make and model and about 100 hours in the last 90 days. Performance data for the flight could not be determined due to the unknown particulars of the flight. An automated weather station, located approximately 25 miles from the accident site, reported winds from 190 degrees at 11 knots, and a temperature of 89 degrees Fahrenheit. The density altitude was calculated at 2,116 feet.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with terrain during takeoff.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/12/2006
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1111
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Marvell
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72366
Event Date Year 2006
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 343359N
Event Location Longitude 0905446W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID NONE
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1120 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 50
Weather Observation Facility ID KUTA
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 25
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.08
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 20734
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Jul 12 2006 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 28 2006 9:08AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, AR

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N90614
NTSB Number DFW06CA182
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
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 --
Aircraft Serial Number 502B-0592
Certified Max Gross Weight 9200
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
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 --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Randy Gibbons Flying Service, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1848 Spigner Rd
Aircraft Owner City Alcolu
Aircraft Owner State SC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 29001
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 --
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 --
Departure City Marvell
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Marvell
Destination State AR
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 3 2006 4:15PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 09
Runway Length 3000
Runway Width 50
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --