14 Aug 2012: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-502 — NORTHSTAR AEROSPRAY INC

14 Aug 2012: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-502 — NORTHSTAR AEROSPRAY INC

No fatalities • Hanley Falls, MN, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a guy wire during an agricultural application pass.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

The pilot was conducting an agricultural application pass at the time of the accident. He was flying near a set of power line support poles on the edge of the field in order to establish a global positioning system (GPS) reference line for subsequent application passes. He was looking to the left to maintain clearance to the support poles when he observed guy wires in his flight path. He immediately pulled up and rolled to the right; however, the left wing struck a guy wire. The airplane impacted the ground inverted. The pilot stated that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the airplane prior to the accident. He noted that making the guy wires more visible and greater awareness on his part might have prevented the accident.

Contributing factors

  • cause Pilot
  • cause Altitude — Not attained/maintained
  • factor Effect on operation

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 090/04kt, vis 10sm

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