Air Tractor AT-400 N3159W

Summary

On 31 July 2004 at about 13:50 local time, a Air Tractor AT-400 registered N3159W was involved in an accident near Clayton, Louisiana, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 July 2004 at 13:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Clayton, Louisiana, United States

Coordinates

31.7275, -91.5828

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-400

Registration

N3159W

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Chase → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04LA201

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the high tension power lines.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

While maneuvering during an aerial application of chemicals on a field, the 5,972-hour pilot reported that the left wing collided with the lower set of transmission wires running perpendicular to the field being sprayed, about 60 feet off the ground. The pilot added that he had flown under the same set of wires six or seven times earlier that morning; however, during the last pass, he felt that "the aircraft ballooned and the tail came up." Subsequently, the airplane impacted terrain and came to rest upright.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.