Air Tractor AT 301 N7311X

Summary

On 27 July 2016 at about 12:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT 301 registered N7311X, operated by Willmar Aerial Spraying INC, was involved in an accident near Bird Island, Minnesota, 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

27 July 2016 at 12:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Bird Island, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

44.4747, -94.5344

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT 301

Registration

N7311X

Category

Airplane

Year built

1986

Engines

1

Operator

Willmar Aerial Spraying INC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Olivia → Olivia

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA16CA399

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's diverted attention inside the cockpit and failure to maintain the airplane's altitude while maneuvering at a low altitude, resulting in an impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, during a low altitude agricultural aerial application flight he observed a glitch in the satellite navigation system. He reported that he attempted to identify the glitch and his attention was focused inside the cockpit. The pilot recalled that while focused inside the cockpit, he heard and felt the corn stalks that he was spraying, strike the airplane. He reported that he then looked outside the cockpit and "observed a slight rise in terrain", he increased throttle and pulled back on the stick. However, the airplane descended into the cornfield, yawed to the right, impacted the ground and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, fuselage, and the empennage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with airplane that would have prevented normal flight operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.