N80166Air Tractor AT-802A · 2017

On July 14, 2020, about 1555 Alaska daylight time, an Air Tractor AT802A airplane, N80166, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Birch Creek, Alaska. The pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 firefighting flight.

The mission-specific modified airplane was used to support wildland firefighting operations. The airplane was equipped with Wipline 10000 amphibious floats. Scoops/probes could be manually deployed by a switch located on the control stick of the airplane that actuated an electrically driven hydraulic pump; when the switch was released the scoops would retract. Water was routed through the scoops located on each float to a hopper located in the aircraft. In addition, the airplane was equipped with an asymmetric scoop warning system. In the event of an asymmetric scoop deployment, an audible warning “scoop malfunction” would sound, and a red warning light would illuminate on the instrument panel.

According to the pilot, on the 28th scoop of the day, he touched down on the surface of the water and deployed the scoops to begin filling the airplane’s hopper when the airplane veered to the right. In an effort to correct for the veer he released the scoop switch and applied left rudder to no avail. He retarded the throttle and applied reverse thrust as the airplane began to impact trees located on the lake’s shoreline. The airplane came to rest upright in a marshy area on the lake’s shoreline sustaining substantial damage to the right wing.

A series of postaccident examinations of the airplane including its fuel system, flight control system and water scoop system revealed no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operations. Control continuity was established for all flight and engine controls.