Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Monango, North Dakota 58436
Tuesady, August 23, 2011 18:53 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot reported that he remembered completing a majority of his spray runs during the aerial-application flight and was finishing along the field's edge when the accident occurred. However, he had no recollection of the airplane colliding with the trees or terrain. Global positioning system data revealed that the airplane had descended from about 300 feet above ground level (agl) to less than 100 feet agl into a sparsely wooded area during the last 15 seconds of the flight. A postaccident examination established that the airplane's right wingtip contacted a tree before the airplane collided with terrain. The examination did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane. The presence of fuel throughout the engine's fuel system and the rotational damage sustained by several engine components was consistent with a sudden stoppage of an operating engine during impact.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot did not maintain adequate separation from a tree during the aerial-application flight.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/23/2011 |
| Event Day of the Week | Tuesday |
| Time of Event | 1853 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Monango |
| Event State | NORTH DAKOTA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 58436 |
| Event Date Year | 2011 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 461101N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0983028W |
| 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 | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1855 Central Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 81 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | KGWR |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 1266 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 36 |
| 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) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 30 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 25 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 210 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 9 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 29.61 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | KGWR 232355Z AUTO 21009KT 10SM CLR 30/25 A2961 RMK |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 29774 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA - Great Lakes Region |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 15 2012 11:23AM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N23720 |
| NTSB Number | CEN11LA593 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 137: Agricultural |
| 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-400 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 400-0422 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 7600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | 1 |
| 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 | Jul 29 2011 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | 9354 |
| ELT Installed | No |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | David J. Lux |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | LaMoure |
| Aircraft Owner State | ND |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 58458-9000 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | D-Lux Spray Service, LLC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | LaMoure |
| Operator State | ND |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 58458-9000 |
| Operator Code | XUDG |
| 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 | XUDG183J |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | 51D |
| Departure City | Edgeley |
| Departure State | ND |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1819 |
| Departure Time Zone | CDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere |
| Destination Airport Code | 51D |
| Destination City | Edgeley |
| Destination State | ND |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Mar 13 2012 7:55PM |
| User who most recently changed record | foxt |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | N/A |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |