Summary
On August 14, 2012, a Air Tractor INC AT-502 (N1021D) was involved in an accident near Hanley Falls, MN. The accident resulted in 1 minor injury. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this accident to be: The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a guy wire during an agricultural application pass.
The pilot was conducting an agricultural application pass at the time of the accident. He was flying near a set of power line support poles on the edge of the field in order to establish a global positioning system (GPS) reference line for subsequent application passes. He was looking to the left to maintain clearance to the support poles when he observed guy wires in his flight path. He immediately pulled up and rolled to the right; however, the left wing struck a guy wire. The airplane impacted the ground inverted. The pilot stated that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the airplane prior to the accident. He noted that making the guy wires more visible and greater awareness on his part might have prevented the accident.
This accident is documented in NTSB report CEN12CA546. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N1021D.
Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a guy wire during an agricultural application pass.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Historical)
Analysis
The pilot was conducting an agricultural application pass at the time of the accident. He was flying near a set of power line support poles on the edge of the field in order to establish a global positioning system (GPS) reference line for subsequent application passes. He was looking to the left to maintain clearance to the support poles when he observed guy wires in his flight path. He immediately pulled up and rolled to the right; however, the left wing struck a guy wire. The airplane impacted the ground inverted. The pilot stated that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the airplane prior to the accident. He noted that making the guy wires more visible and greater awareness on his part might have prevented the accident.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# CEN12CA546