# Accident 20010731019599A: Airtrc AT402A, Whitakers, NC, July 31, 2001

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 31, 2001, 17:26 local time
- Place: Whitakers, NC
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: ARHG
- Location: 35.8993° N, 77.5507° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.8993&lon=-77.5507&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9072T, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9072T-2005-03-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-402A (registry code 0390206, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-402a) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A series (registry code 52034, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-pt6a-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIRTRC AT402A
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 9,000 total, 1,200 in this make and model, 200 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA01LA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01LA205) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010731019599A

## Narrative

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

(-23) THE PILOT WAS TURNING TO MAKE ANOTHER PASS WHEN HE HIT A POLE AT THE END OF THE FIELD. (.19) ON JULY 31, 2001, ABOUT 1726 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AIR TRACTOR IN., AT-402A, N9072T, REGISTERED TO, AND OPERATED BY AIR-AB INC., AS A TITLE 14 CFR PART 137 AGRICULTURAL FLIGHT, COLLIDED WITH A LIGHT POLE, AND CRASHED INTO A FIELD IN WHITAKERS, NORTH CAROLINA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED.  THE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT, RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES, AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED.  THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM TARBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, THE SAME DAY, ABOUT 1700. ACCORDING TO A DEPUTY WITH THE NASH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS SPRAYING A TOBACCO FIELD, AND AFTER HIS FIFTH OR SIXTH PASS ACROSS THE FIELD, HE HIT A TELEPHONE POLE, AND POSSIBLY SOME WIRES.  THE DEPUTY FURTHER STATED THAT THE PILOT SAID HE KNEW THAT THE POLE AND WIRES WERE THERE, BUT HE HAD FORGOTTEN, AND SAW THEM JUST PRIOR TO IMPACTING THEM WITH HIS LEFT WING.  THE DEPUTY SAID THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AS A RESULT OF THE IMPACT.                                                                                                              (.4) ON JULY 31, 2001, ABOUT 1726 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME, AN AIR TRACTOR INC., AT-402A, N9072T, REGISTERED TO, AND OPERATED BY AIR-AG INC., AS A TITLE 14 CFR PART 137 AGRICULTURAL FLIGHT, COLLIDED WITH A LIGHT POLE, AND CRASHED INTO A FIELD IN WHITAKERS, NORTH CAROLINA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT OF THE AIRCRAFT, RECEIVED SERIOUS INJURIES, AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM TARBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, THE SAME DAY, ABOUT 1700. ACCORDING TO A DEPUTY WITH THE NASH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS SPRAYING A TOBACCO FIELD, AND AFTER HIS FIFTH OR SIXTH PASS ACROSS THE FIELD, HE HIT A TELEPHONE POLE, AND POSSIBLY SOME WIRES. THE DEPUTY FURTHER STATED THAT THE PILOT SAID HE KNEW THAT THE POLE AND WIRES WERE THERE, BUT HE HAD FORGOTTEN, AND SAW THEM JUST PRIOR TO IMPACTING THEM WITH HIS LEFT WING. THE DEPUTY SAID THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AS A RESULT OF THE IMPACT. THE PILOT STATED THAT IT HAD BEEN HIS EIGHTH AGRICULTURAL LOAD OF THE DAY, AND UPON REACHING THE FIELD TO BE TREATED HE CIRCLED THE FIELD LOOKING FOR OBSTRUCTIONS AS USUAL, AND THEN BEGAN SPRAYING OPERATIONS. THE PILOT FURTHER STATED THAT UPON THE THIRD PASS OR SWATH THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A POWER UTILITY POLE WHICH WAS COVERED WITH VINES, AND LOCATED IN A CORNER, SURROUNDED BY TREES ON TWO SIDES. THE PILOT SAID THAT THE AIRCRAFT CONTACTED THE CROP AND GROUND WITHIN 100 FEET AFTER HITTING THE POLE.

## 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 MIA01LA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01LA205), Jul 31, 2001: Air Tractor AT-402A (N9072T), Whitakers, NC, destroyed. Probable cause: the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout and the proper clearance from obstacles while conducting aerial applications, which resulted in an inflight collision with a power utility…

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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