What happened
On July 26, 2011, an Air Tractor AT-602 operated by Sturdivant Brothers Flying Service Inc crashed into a rice field near Drew, Mississippi. The flight was an agricultural mission intended to spray a soybean field located between Glendora and Drew. The pilot departed from a private airstrip near Glendora at approximately 0605 central daylight time.
At the time of the accident, the area was experiencing instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). While company personnel stated the pilot had obtained a computer weather briefing, there was no official record of a flight plan being filed or a formal weather briefing being obtained through a Flight Service Station. Witnesses at the crash site and nearby reported extremely dense fog, with forward visibility estimated between 150 and 200 feet.
The aircraft, registration N8525L, was observed by a witness flying over Drew, Mississippi, at approximately 0700, about seven miles from the eventual impact site. The wreckage was discovered in a plantation rice field shortly after 0713.
The investigation
Investigators examined the wreckage of the N8525L and found the left wing had impacted the rice field in a descending, left-wing-low, nose-down attitude. The debris line measured 249 feet long. Mechanical examination of the engine, propeller, and flight controls revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have prevented normal operation.
Analysis of the SATLOC global positioning system data showed the aircraft departed the field site at 0544:24. The data tracked the aircraft performing maneuvers, including a climb and a descent on a westerly heading, until the data ended prematurely at 0548:34. The last recorded data points placed the aircraft on a westerly track at a ground speed of 155 knots, approximately 3/4 mile south of the crash site.
An autopsy of the pilot determined the cause of death was blunt force trauma. Toxicology results were negative for carbon monoxide, cyanide, and ethanol, though traces of medications used to treat high blood pressure were present.