Air Tractor Inc AT-802A N805DG accident near Izee, Oregon

Probable cause

The pilot’s controlled flight into terrain while maneuvering through an area of low visibility due to wildfire smoke and haze.

NTSB analysis

The accident pilot was acting as the lead in a flight of two single-engine air tankers (SEATs) supporting fire suppression operations. The pilots conducted two successful retardant drops on their fire suppression area. At the conclusion of the second drop, the airplanes returned to the airport to reload with retardant; however, the trail airplane landed 12 minutes after the accident airplane. The trailing pilot indicated to the base manager that he had flown a different route back to base, as he was not comfortable with the visibility along the easterly route the lead pilot had chosen. The trailing pilot advised the lead pilot that the route west of the fire perimeter had better visibility.

The pilots subsequently departed to conduct the third drop and maneuvered to the west of the fire perimeter before turning northeast toward the drop site. About 20 nautical miles (nm) west of the site, the pilot in the trailing airplane reported seeing the accident airplane maneuver away from a column of smoke, and told the accident pilot that he did not want to maintain their current flight path due to visibility concerns.

The accident pilot then directed the trailing pilot to take over the lead position. The trailing pilot saw the accident pilot maneuver into position behind him, but shortly thereafter lost sight of the accident airplane. The trailing pilot stated that he did not receive any radio broadcasts from the accident pilot after he lost sight of the airplane.

ADS-B flight track data showed that the accident airplane made an S-turn to the north at an altitude around 6,700 ft mean sea level (msl), then began to descend, with a corresponding increase in ground speed. The descent continued to the end of the recorded data, with the last target depicting the accident airplane about 5,330 ft south of the accident site at an altitude about 500 ft above the elevation of the accident site.

The airplane impacted terrain at an elevation about 5,700 ft msl, and the wreckage path was about 1,000 ft long. The impact signatures were more consistent with a controlled flight into trees and terrain than a loss of control and steep descent before impact. The propeller blades and engine exhibited signatures consistent with operation at the time of impact. Postaccident examination of the airframe and engine showed no preimpact anomalies that would have prevented normal operation.

Based on the available information, the pilot likely encountered low visibility conditions in smoke and haze just before the accident occurred. Although the investigation was unable to determine if the reason for the airplane’s descent was that the pilot was maneuvering to find a clearing through the smoke and haze, these conditions likely contributed to the pilot’s loss of situation awareness of the airplane’s altitude relative to the terrain.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR24FA255 for the full record.