History of Flight
On June 14, 2024, at about 0700 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-602 airplane, registration N115AA, was destroyed when it impacted terrain near Broseley, Missouri. The pilot sustained fatal injuries. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 137 as an agricultural application operation.
The airplane departed from a private airstrip at about 0600. At takeoff, the fuel load was approximately three-quarters capacity and the hopper was fully loaded. The pilot planned to apply fertilizer to a field located about half a mile north-northwest of the accident site.
A witness located about 2 miles from the accident site reported hearing what he believed was the accident airplane for a total duration of about 15 minutes. The engine sound seemed normal for most of that period. Toward the end, the engine pitch increased slightly for about 3 to 4 seconds before the sound faded away completely. The witness did not hear the airplane again nor any impact noise.
The sheriff's office received a report at about 0830 that the airplane was overdue. A search located the accident site shortly thereafter.
The accident site was approximately 3 miles northeast of the departure airstrip and about half a mile southeast of the field being sprayed. The airplane impacted a wooded area adjacent to a soybean field, and a postimpact fire ensued. The soybean plants were 2 to 3 feet high, and the trees were 20 to 30 feet tall. No power lines, towers, or guy wires were observed in the immediate vicinity.
The owner of the field reported that the pilot was scheduled to apply fertilizer to three of his fields that day. A visual examination of the field that morning by the farmer's employees indicated that the pilot had potentially made one application pass on the field. No evidence of multiple passes was observed.
No airplane position data for the accident flight was available. The airplane was equipped with a satellite tracking system, but that system was destroyed by the postimpact fire. No ADS-B data for the airplane was located.
Personnel Information
The pilot's flight time logbook was not available to the investigation.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest upright about 35 feet from the south edge of the woods, oriented on a southwest heading. The propeller assembly with the engine power section module attached was found adjacent to the impact crater. The power section had separated from the remainder of the engine assembly. A portion of the left wing tip, including the navigation/strobe light assembly, was located about 160 feet east of the main wreckage at the edge of the wooded area.
Multiple tree propeller cuts and tree breaks were present in the immediate vicinity. One tree, about 14 inches in diameter near the base, was broken off about 12 feet above ground level. It also exhibited five propeller cuts beginning about seven feet above ground level and progressively increasing in depth lower on the tree.
Detailed airframe, engine, and propeller examinations did not reveal any anomalies associated with a preimpact failure or malfunction. The airframe exhibited damage consistent with the impact to trees and terrain. No indication of an inflight structural failure was observed. The flight control surfaces were present at the accident site. Flight control system components displayed multiple separations; however, metallurgical examination revealed signatures consistent with overload separations.
The engine exhibited internal contact signatures consistent with rotation at impact. The propeller blades displayed chordwise abrasions, forward bending, and leading edge damage. The propeller cylinder exhibited damage consistent with the piston and blades being in the normal operating range at impact.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy of the pilot was conducted by the Butler County Coroner. According to the autopsy report, the cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries, and the manner of death was accident. Toxicology testing performed at the FAA Forensic Sciences Laboratory revealed a low level of glucose (27 mg/dL) in urine and the presence of naproxen in liver and muscle tissue. Naproxen is a non-prescription NSAID used to treat pain and inflammation and is normally acceptable for pilots. Ethanol was not detected.