Pilot Debrief

AIR TRACTOR INC AT-301 near McAlpin, FL — 2011-10-24

Final reportERA12CA050
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Date
2011-10-24
Location
McAlpin, FL, USA
Aircraft
AIR TRACTOR INC AT-301
Registration
N3169C
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot's misjudgment of the airplane's distance from known transmission lines.

NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he had successfully completed six aerial application passes below transmission lines that ran diagonally above a rectangular agricultural field. The pilot had also successfully completed 11 or 12 similar application flights over the same field during previous years, including 1 earlier that month. As the pilot turned the airplane toward its seventh pass, sun position and spray residue on the windshield resulted in his briefly losing sight of the transmission lines. The pilot regained sight of the transmission lines and continued the pass; however, the airplane struck the lines, damaging the wing spar. The pilot did not report any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • 1 docket document
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents1

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