# Accident 19980520010249A: Airtrc AT401, Idaho Falls, ID, May 20, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: May 20, 1998, 09:15 local time
- Place: Idaho Falls, ID
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: HNBG
- Location: 43.4298° N, 111.8904° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.4298&lon=-111.8904&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1009T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1009T-2006-12-08) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-401 (registry code 0390204, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-401) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney R1340 series (registry code 52016, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT401
- Reported engine: PWA R1340AN2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 9,882 total, 9 in this make and model, 12 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB SEA98LA080](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA080) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980520010249A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ACFT STRUCK A POWER LINE DURING AERIAL APPLICATION, IDAHO FALLS, ID. (.4) ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, WHO WAS MANEUVERING NEAR THE POWER LINE WHILE APPLYING CHEMICALS TO A FIELD, HE HAD JUST ROLLED WINGS-LEVEL AND DESCENDED FOR ANOTHER PASS WHEN HIS LEFT WING CONTACTED THE TOP WIRE OF THE POWER LINE. HE SAID THAT HE SAW THE LINE AND THOUGHT HE HAD CLEARANCE, BUT THE AIRCRAFT'S WING CAUGHT THE WIRE NEAR ITS TIP. HE REPORTED THAT AFTER COLLIDING WITH THE POWER LINE, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND IN A 'CART-WHEELING' MOTION. HE FURTHER STATED THAT HE WAS ACCUSTOMED TO FLYING THE AT-300, BUT THAT HE HAD RECENTLY PURCHASED THE AT-401, AND THAT THIS WAS HIS FIRST APPLICATION FLIGHT USING THE NEW AIRCRAFT. IT WAS HIS OPINION THAT THE DIFFERENT SIZE AND SIGHT-PICTURE OF THE 401 HAD CAUSED HIM TO THINK HE HAD MORE CLEARANCE FROM THE WIRE THAN HE ACTUALLY HAD.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     (.4)ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, WHO WAS MANEUVERING NEAR THE POWER LINE WHILE APPLYING CHEMICALS TO A FIELD, HE HAD JUST ROLLED WINGS-LEVEL AND DESCENDED FOR ANOTHER PASS WHEN HIS LEFT WING CONTACTED THE TOP WIRE OF THE POWER LINE. HE SAID THAT HE SAW THE LINE AND THOUGHT HE HAD CLEARANCE, BUT THE AIRCRAFT'S WING CAUGHT THE WIRE NEAR ITS TIP. HE REPORTED THAT AFTER COLLIDING WITH THE POWER LINE, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND IN A 'CART-WHEELING' MOTION. HE FURTHER STATED THAT HE WAS ACCUSTOMED TO FLYING THE AT-300, BUT THAT HE HAD RECENTLY PURCHASED THE AT-401, AND THAT THIS WAS HIS FIRST APPLICATION FLIGHT USING THE NEW AIRCRAFT. IT WAS HIS OPINION THAT THE DIFFERENT SIZE AND SIGHT-PICTURE OF THE 401 HAD CAUSED HIM TO THINK HE HAD MORE CLEARANCE FROM THE WIRE THAN HE ACTUALLY HAD.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB SEA98LA080](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA98LA080), May 20, 1998: Air Tractor AT-401 (N1009T), Idaho Falls, ID, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a power transmission line during an aerial application flight. Factors include a power line located just beyond the boundary of the field being sprayed,…

## Other reports on N1009T (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19930715024179A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19930715024179A), Jul 15, 1993: Airtrc AT401 (N1009T), Dermott, AR, Substantial damage. Lost power after last spray run. Landed flooded rice field. Nosed over. Master rod failure. Precrack.recent overhaul

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.