Air Tractor AT-502 N10325 accident near Ropesville, Texas

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall while maneuvering.

NTSB analysis

The commercial pilot stated that during a routine aerial application, he circled the airplane around the field to be sprayed to locate obstacles. He sprayed the field from north to south and made passes from east to west. During the third pass, when the airplane exited the field to the west to return for an eastward pass, he felt the airplane shake at the apex of the turn. He said that he corrected for the shake/stall, and the shaking quit for a moment. He then felt the right wing "take a hard dip." The airplane entered a right roll, impacted the ground, and was destroyed. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane. It is likely that, while maneuvering, the pilot failed to maintain the proper airspeed and exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack, which led to an aerodynamic stall.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN16LA208 for the full record.