Air Tractor AT-602 N628JP

Summary

On 5 May 2013 at about 22:45 local time, a Air Tractor AT-602 registered N628JP, operated by Andy Deterding Ag Aviation, was involved in an accident near Udall, Kansas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

5 May 2013 at 22:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Udall, Kansas, United States

Coordinates

37.3791, -97.1108

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT-602

Registration

N628JP

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Andy Deterding Ag Aviation

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wellington → Udall

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN13LA263

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate flight planning, which resulted in a wire strike.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of an aerial application flight reported that he arrived at the field and conducted three surveillance orbits to check for obstacles and wires. The pilot flew five spraying passes over the field, but on the sixth pass, the airplane’s propeller and landing gear struck a powerline. The airplane started vibrating severely, and the pilot executed a forced landing to a nearby field. During the landing roll, the left wing struck a large bush that turned the airplane sideways as it skidded to a stop, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing. The pole associated with the powerline that was struck was located in the tree line, and the pilot did not see the low hanging powerline that ran at an angle across the field. He did not have a map of the field, and he was not informed about the low hanging powerline.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.