Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain clearance from a levy.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
The aerial application pilot reported that he was setting navigational equipment while en-route to a field to spray. He stated that he became fixated on the unit. He said, “At the end of the field was a levy with a road on top of it. I noticed this too late and impacted the landing gear of the aircraft at the top of the levy. The airplane continued to fly and I knew I had hit something.” Review of photographs of the airplane showed that structural tubing was torn away from the fuselage tubing and the torn structure remained attached to the separated landing gear.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN09CA616