Waitsburg, WA, USA
N23811
Air Tractor Inc. AT-301
The pilot reported that while landing at an airstrip, and flaring to a three point landing, a gust of wind or "dust-devil" pushed the aircraft to the left side of the airstrip. The pilot reported that it happened so fast that he was unable to make a correction before the spray boom caught on the bordering wheat. The airplane veered to the left and spun around approximately 180 degrees before coming to rest on the side of the strip in the wheat field.
On July 12, 2004, about 1100 Pacific daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-301, N23811, registered to a private individual and operated by Red Baron Aviation as a 14 CFR Part 137 aerial application flight, collided with vegetation during the landing at an airstrip near Waitsburg, Washington, and subsequently ground looped. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the local flight. The aircraft was substantially damaged and the commercial pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The pilot reported that while landing at an airstrip, and flaring to a three point landing, a gust of wind or "dust-devil" pushed the aircraft to the left side of the airstrip. The pilot reported that it happened so fast that he was unable to make a correction before the spray boom caught on the bordering wheat. The airplane veered to the left and spun around approximately 180 degrees before coming to rest on the side of the strip in the wheat field.
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control and his inadequate compensation for the wind conditions during the landing. Gusts and high vegetation were factors.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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