Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Whittemore, Iowa 50598
Friday, July 23, 2010 14:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that he had made four previous agricultural aerial application runs prior to the accident flight, one of which had the same load as the accident flight. He departed to the north since the windsock was indicating a slight northeast wind. The grass airstrip was about 2,640 feet long and was soft due to recent rains. The weather was about 90 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity. He reported that he put in 10 degrees of flaps, held the brakes, and ran the engine up to 1,700 lbs of torque. After he released the brakes and started the takeoff roll, the airplane encountered a soft spot in the runway, which reduced his ground speed. Halfway down the runway the tail had still not come up, so the pilot “forced the tail up using the trim tab” and by pushing the stick full forward. The pilot eased the forward stick pressure and the tail went back to the ground. He immediately began to dump the load and he put in full flaps. About 100 yards before the end of the runway, the pilot “pulled the stick all the way back and became airborne, but stalled [the] airplane.” The left wing stalled and impacted the ground. The airplane came to rest in a corn field on the edge of the grass airstrip. The pilot reported that he “should have stopped the ground roll when I encountered the wet spot in the strip.” The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing, right wing, and empennage.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to abort the takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/23/2010
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1400
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Whittemore
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 50598
Event Date Year 2010
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 430347N
Event Location Longitude 0942522W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID --
Elevation of weather observation facility --
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation --
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) --
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) --
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Light and Variable
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
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) 27419
NTSB Notification Source FAA-CEN-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 8 2010 12:45PM
User who most recently changed record dinc
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4203B
NTSB Number CEN10CA434
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 502B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 502B-2636
Certified Max Gross Weight 9400
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 --
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name A&M Flying Service
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Carlisle
Aircraft Owner State AR
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 72024
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Josh Aukes
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Cabot
Operator State AR
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 72023
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) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board --
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Whittemore
Departure State IA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1400
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Whittemore
Destination State IA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Oct 25 2010 1:35PM
User who most recently changed record broda
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --