Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Decatur County Industrial Air Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Brinson, Georgia 39825
Tuesady, July 7, 2009 13:00 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was progressing with his aerial application training. He was supposed to depart the airport, perform steep turns and flight at minimum controllable airspeed, drop water at a designated spot about 3/4 mile from the airport, and return for landing. The airplane was observed about 5 miles west of the airport, in level flight from north to south. The airplane then made a left U-turn and flew from south to north. The airplane made another left turn, toward the west, and started climbing. The airplane then released water and instantly began a fast spiral straight down to the ground, with the water following. Witnesses heard loud, continuous engine noise throughout the accident sequence and several examinations of the wreckage did not reveal evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. The pilot received his private pilot certificate about 5 weeks prior to the accident and had conducted his previous training in an airplane with less than one-third the horsepower and one-half the weight-carrying capacity as the accident airplane. The pilot had accumulated 2 hours of flight experience in the accident airplane when the accident occurred. Additionally, both airplanes displayed a tendency to pitch up during a water drop maneuver, though the accident airplane displayed this characteristic more severely due to its higher weight. This tendency would require a pilot to aggressively push the flight control stick forward, near the stop, to counteract the force.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of experience in the make and model airplane.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/7/2009 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1300 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Brinson |
| Event State | GEORGIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 39825 |
| Event Date Year | 2009 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 305646N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0844326W |
| Event Location Airport | Decatur County Industrial Air |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | BGE |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 141 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1257 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 30 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BGE |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 141 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 5 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 2300 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| 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) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 23 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 6 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.89 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Fatal |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | 1 |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | -- |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 26336 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Southern ROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 13 2009 3:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8587S |
| NTSB Number | ERA09LA385 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | None |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | AIR TRACTOR INC |
| Aircraft Model | AT-301 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 301-0153 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 5000 |
| 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 | 100 Hour |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jun 3 2009 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 20 |
| Airframe Hours | 9004 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | BILLY HOWELL |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | BAINBRIDGE |
| Aircraft Owner State | GA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 31718 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | AG-FLIGHT INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | BAINBRIDGE |
| Operator State | GA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 31718 |
| Operator Code | -- |
| 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 | -- |
| Indicates Domestic or International Flight | -- |
| Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail | -- |
| Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) | Instructional |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | BGE |
| Departure City | Bainbridge |
| Departure State | GA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1250 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | BGE |
| Destination City | Bainbridge |
| Destination State | GA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 13 2009 3:06PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |