Pilot Debrief

Air Tractor AT 401 near Burlington, CO — 2020-07-27

Final reportCEN20CA311
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Date
2020-07-27
Location
Burlington, CO, USA
Aircraft
Air Tractor AT 401
Registration
N9190Q
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Minor
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from guy-wires during low-altitude agricultural operations.

NTSB narrative

The pilot flew the agricultural airplane to the designated spray area. He made 3-4 passes on a corn field and surveyed the area for guy-wires (a tower was adjacent to the field). He flew multiple passes around the tower to look for guy-wires but he was not able to get an exact location on the tower’s guy-wires and started spraying the field from south to north, and then west to east. After spraying about 4 passes in the middle of the field and 3 passes on the west end of the field the airplane struck a guy-wire with the right wing. After the airplane hit the wire, the pilot had trouble maintaining altitude. The airplane collided through a single set of power lines and struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 2 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents2

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