# Accident 20111024024279A: Air Tractor Inc AT-301, O'Brien, FL, October 24, 2011

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 24, 2011, 12:15 local time
- Place: O'Brien, FL
- Airport: Thompson Airfield
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Location: 30.1375° N, 82.8892° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.1375&lon=-82.8892&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3169C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3169C-2018-01-03) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-301 (registry code 0390103, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-301) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney R1340 series (registry code 52016, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-r1340-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-301
- Reported engine: P&W R1340 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 20,000 total, 14,000 in this make and model, 150 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ERA12CA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12CA050) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20111024024279A

## Narrative

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

ON OCTOBER 24, 2011, AIRCRAFT N3169C, AN AIR TRACTOR MODEL AT -301, STRUCK A POWER LINE WHILE DISPENSING DEFOLIANT ON A CROP FIELD NEAR O'BRIEN, FL. THE PILOT, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^, WHILE MANUVERING TO RE-ENTER THE FIELD, MOMENTARILY LOST VISION OF THE POWER WIRE DUE TO OBSCURITY ON THE WINDSHIELD CREATE BY THE SPRAY AGENT. THE PILOT STATED THAT WHEN HE ANGLED THE AIRCRAFT INTO THE SUN IT CREATED A GLARE CAUSING HIM TO LOOSE VISION OF THE POWER LINES. THE SEVEN POWERLINES CROSS THE FIELD AT AN ANGLE FROM NORTH EAST TO SOUTH WEST. THE PILOT STRUCKED THE THIRD LINE FROM THE BOTTOM. THE PILOT ESTIMATED LINES TO BE ABOUT FIFTY FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. AFTER STRIKING THE LINE, THE PILOT MAINTAINED CONTROL AND RETURNED TO HIS HOME BASE OF OPERATION LOCATED EIGHT MILES FROM WHERE THE INCIDENT OCCURRED. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE RIGHT WING LEADING EDGE, RIGHT WING SPRAY BOOM AND ENGINE COWLING. THE PILOT WAS NOT INJURED.

## 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 ERA12CA050](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA12CA050), Oct 24, 2011: Air Tractor AT-301 (N3169C), McAlpin, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's misjudgment of the airplane's distance from known transmission lines.

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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