Air Tractor Inc AT-502A N887LA accident near Clayton, Louisiana

Probable cause

The pilot’s loss of airplane control resulting in an aerodynamic stall while executing a steep turnaround during an aerial application flight.

NTSB analysis

On the day of the accident, the pilot had already completed several aerial application flights and was in the process of spraying product on a target field. Witnesses stated that the airplane had just completed a spray pass and was turning around. During the turn, the airplane pitched up and rolled left into a steep bank. One witness stated that it looked like the pilot, “didn’t pull out of a barrel roll.” The airplane “fell out of the sky” and impacted the ground inverted. Data extracted from the airplane’s GPS failed to record the last 30 seconds of the flight, likely as a result of a recording latency. Postaccident examination of the wreckage did not revealed any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot failing to maintain airplane control while maneuvering in the turn at low altitude, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.

Although toxicology testing detected diphenhydramine, a sedating antihistamine, in the pilot’s urine, operational evidence of any impairment is inconclusive. Therefore, whether the pilot’s use of diphenhydramine contributed to the accident could not be determined from the available evidence.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN21LA223 for the full record.