What happened
On January 18, 2018, an Air Tractor AT-402B, registration PR-ARH, was performing agricultural spraying operations near Itabela, Bahia. The aircraft departed from a landing strip in Eunápolis to fly to Fazenda Cachoeira Bonita. During its first pass over the field, the aircraft struck a three-phase high-voltage power line.
Following the collision, the pilot struggled to maintain control of the aircraft. To prevent a more serious accident, the pilot performed an emergency landing in a field at Fazenda Santa Fé, approximately 1,600 meters away from the initial impact site. The aircraft sustained substantial damage, but the pilot escaped without injury.
The investigation
The investigation conducted by SERIPA II established that the pilot was fully qualified for the mission, holding valid medical and agricultural pilot certifications, with approximately 3,400 total flight hours. The aircraft was also found to be in airworthy condition and within weight and balance limits.
Investigators determined that the power lines involved in the collision had been installed only a few days prior to the accident and were not documented on the navigation charts used by the pilot. While the aircraft was equipped with a GPS capable of storing obstacle data, the pilot did not habitually use this feature for obstacle updates. Furthermore, the pilot had not performed a visual reconnaissance of the area prior to the flight operations.
Findings
- The pilot did not conduct a visual reconnaissance of the area to identify potential hazards before takeoff.
- The newly installed power lines were not plotted on the navigation charts used for flight planning.
- The low-altitude nature of agricultural spraying operations reduced the pilot's field of vision, hindering the perception of the obstacle.
- The failure to update obstacle information in the navigation charts and GPS contributed to the collision.