| Crash location | 48.980278°N, 118.017778°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect. |
| Nearest city | Northport, WA
48.916022°N, 117.781650°W 11.6 miles away |
| Tail number | N397AS |
|---|---|
| Accident date | 14 Aug 2018 |
| Aircraft type | Air Tractor AT802 |
| Additional details: | None |
On August 14, 2018, about 1500 Pacific daylight time, an Air Tractor AT802 airplane (Fire Boss), N397AS, was substantially damaged during a forced landing near Northport, Washington. The commercial pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was registered to Wells Fargo Bank Northwest Trustee and operated by Airspray Airtankers, Chico, California, as a public aircraft. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local area flight that had originated from a water dip site near the area of an active fire.
According to the United States Forest Service (USFS) accident coordinator, the airplane was being used as a mutual aid agreement between Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the USFS.
The accident flight was a flight of 3, with the accident airplane in the number 2 position. The pilot reported that he heard a "thud" followed by a bang and the airframe began to shake. He jettisoned the water and turned away from the other two airplanes. The pilot initially was going to land on an old logging road; however, the landing area was lined with trees on both sides of the road. He opted instead to stall the airplane over the tree tops. After impact with the trees, the airplane came to rest upright at the base of the trees adjacent to the road.
A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector responded to the accident site and reported that the entire airplane came to rest at the accident site. He noted that the cowling and one wing were oil-coated.
The airplane was recovered to a secure location for further examination.