Air Tractor INC AT-802A accident near Inguadona, Minnesota, October 8, 2024
On October 8, 2024 at about 7:00 pm local time, a 2010 Air Tractor INC AT-802A, registered N212FB, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Inguadona, Minnesota. It was a firefighting flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to properly configure the landing gear on the amphibious airplane before a water landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 8, 2024 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Inguadona, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor INC AT-802A, built 2010 · all AT-802As on the register
- Registration
- N212FB · registry record · serial 802A-0368
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Firefighting flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the amphibious firefighting airplane departed from a land-based airport with a hard surface runway. The pilot reported that he was distracted during the initial climb by another airplane flying towards him on what looked like a low approach. According to the pilot this disrupted his callout flow, and he did not retract the landing gear. The flight was part of a training event, and the pilot was supposed to scoop water at a lake northwest of the scene of a mock fire. When he arrived at the intended lake another firefighting airplane had just scooped water and advised him to use a south to north scoop line. The pilot stated that he did his pre-scoop checklist, putting his hand on the landing gear lever and verbalizing “handle forward, four blue for the water,” as he was watching the other airplane. He said it did not register that the landing gear lever was aft and not forward or that there were four green lights instead of four blue. When the airplane landed it decelerated quickly and nosed over before settling upright, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings. The pilot egressed the airplane without incident and saw the floats had separated from the airplane and that the landing gear were extended. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Landing gear not configured during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of equip/system › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Main landing gear › Incorrect use/operation
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 11,650 hours in all; 680 in this make and model; 40 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 10,900 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 10, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,861.6 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 22, 2024; 429.6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 16,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6-67F (turboprop); 1,802 hours total
- Operator: Aero Spray INC
The flight
- Departed from: KBRD Brainerd MN at 6:00 pm
- Destination: KBRD Brainerd MN
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 34°F (1°C)
- Altimeter: 30.06 inHg
- Observation at 12:53 pm from KXVG, 4 miles away
Weather report (METAR): KXVG 081753Z AUTO 17003KT 10SM CLR 17/01 A3006 RMK AO2
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN25LA008.