Air Tractor Inc AT-802A N10122 accident near Helena, Montana

Probable cause

The pilot’s loss of situational awareness during the water scoop due to task overload while operating in a multi-airplane tactical firefighting environment, which resulted in the pilot’s failure to maintain directional control and the airplane’s collision with terrain.

NTSB analysis

The pilot of the single-engine air tanker flew as part of a group of four airplanes and was in the No. 2 position. The group departed from their home airport in support of aerial firefighting efforts and arrived at the destination 1 hour and 44 minutes later. Once they arrived on scene, near the wildfire, they flew to a nearby lake to begin the water scooping portion of the mission; the accident occurred during the first scoop sequence.

Witnesses on the lake and in their homes reported that the lead airplane successfully completed its scoop and lifted off from the lake. The float-equipped accident airplane was beginning to scoop when witnesses observed the airplane “moving unsteadily” before the left wing dipped into the water, the right wing rose into the air, the airplane veered left and subsequently impacted the rock face.

During the initial water scoop, the lead pilot transmitted an instruction to abort the scoop due to a tailwind. As the lead airplane climbed away from the lake, the accident airplane had descended toward the water. The pilot did not acknowledge the abort instruction, and the airplane began to drift to the left. A review of the airplane’s SpiderTrack flight tracking data showed that during the final 1,447 ft of the water scoop, the airplane drifted about 10° left while on the water. The lead airplane’s flight data showed that the accident airplane’s drift to the left, away from the middle of the waterway and toward the shoreline and rock face, occurred simultaneously with the lead airplane’s turn to the left. The pilot did not take any evasive action to avoid the rock face.

According to the operator, this was the accident pilot’s first fire season. The pilot’s training history showed that during tactical flying, the pilot at times lost situational awareness, which led to a regression in fundamental flying skills and freezing at the flight controls.

Given these documented deficiencies, the pilot likely experienced a similar degradation in performance during the accident sequence.

Postaccident examination of the wreckage revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Toxicology results indicated a low level of cetirizine in the pilot’s postmortem femoral blood; with the low level found, the pilot was not likely to have experienced any significant impairment effects at the time of the accident. Additionally, a very low level measured concentration of morphine was identified in the pilot’s urine. The positive toxicology result is nonspecific and may have been found after opioid drug use or poppy seed consumption. Given the low level detected, it is unlikely that the pilot was impaired by the effects of morphine at the time of the accident.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR24FA238 for the full record.