# Accident 19981012028859A: Airtrc AT502B, Bainbridge, GA, October 12, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 12, 1998
- Place: Bainbridge, GA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: DULG
- Location: 30.9049° N, 84.5730° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs: center of Bainbridge, GA, within about 6 miles (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.9049&lon=-84.5730&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6037N, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6037N-2001-06-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-502B (registry code 0390307, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-502b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52034, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT502B
- Fatal injuries: 0
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL99LA009](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL99LA009) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19981012028859A

## Narrative

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

ACFT WAS INVOLVED IN AERIAL APPLICAITON WHEN IT STRUCK AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM. PILOT USUALLY FLIES UNDERNEATH ELECTRIC UTILITY WIRES IN ORDER TO SPRAY CROPS AT EDGE OF FIELD AT 6 TO 10 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. LIMITED DAYLIGHT (DAWN) DECREASED VISIBILITY. TWELVE-FOOT HIGH VALLEY IRRIGATION SYSTEM HAD BEEN PARKED ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF THE FIELD THE PREVIOUS DAY AND THE PILOT THOUGHT IT WAS STILL IN THAT POSITION. A WORKER HAD REPOSITIONED THE SYSTEM ALONG THE NORTH SIDE OF THE FIELD AFTER IT MALFUNCTIONED DURING AN IRRIGATION PATTERN. THE SYSTEM WAS LEFT OVERNIGHT UNDERNEATH THE UTILITY WIRES ON THE NORTH SIDE. PILOT DID NOT SEE THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM PRIOR TO THE COLLISION DUE TO THE LIMITED VISIBILITY AT DAWN. (-23) PILOT USUALLY FLIES UNDERNEATH ELECTRIC UTILITY WIRES IN ORDER TO SPRAY CROPS AT EDGE OF FIELD AT 6 TO 10 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. LIMITED DAYLIGHT (DAWN) DECREASED VISIBILITY. TWELVE-FOOT HIGH VALLEY IRRIGATION SYSTEM HAD BEEN PARKED ALONG THE WEST SIDE OF THE FIELD THE PREVIOUS DAY AND THE PILOT THOUGHT IT WAS STILL IN THAT POSITION. A WORKER HAD REPOSITIONED THE SYSTEM ALONG THE NORTH SIDE OF THE FIELD AFTER IT MALFUNCTIONED DURING AN IR                               RIGATION PATTERN. THE SYSTEM WAS LEFT OVERNIGHT UNDERNEATH THE UTILITY WIRES ON THE NORTH SIDE. PILOT DID NOT SEE THE IRRIGATION SYSTEM PRIOR TO THE COLLISION DUE TO THE LIMITED VISIBILITY AT DAWN.

## 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 ATL99LA009](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL99LA009), Oct 12, 1998: Air Tractor AT502B (N6037N), Bainbridge, GA, destroyed. Probable cause: The pilot's inadequate visual lookout which resulted in a collision with an irrigation unit located in the field.

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.

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