# Accident 20230919011429A: Air Tractor Inc AT-502B, Carrington, ND, September 19, 2023

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 19, 2023, 12:30 local time
- Place: Carrington, ND
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Other, Specify
- Operating rules: Agricultural (Part 137)
- Operator: L2YG
- Location: 47.5901° N, 99.1199° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.5901&lon=-99.1199&mi=10
- Aircraft: N502NB, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N502NB) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Air Tractor AT-502B (registry code 0390307, https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-502b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34AG (registry code 52251, https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-34ag) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-502B
- Reported engine: P&W CANADA PT6A-34AG
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN23FA412](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23FA412) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20230919011429A

## Narrative

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

AT APPROXIMATELY 1400  ON TUE SEPT 19, 2023, RECEIVED CALL FROM ROC OF AN ACCIDENT NORTH OF CARRINGTON ND JUST WEST OF HIGHWAY 281 AND NORTH OF 12TH ST.  INVOLVING AN AG ARICRAFT, WITHNESS STATED THAT HE HAD HIT A WIRE ON THE EAST SIDE OF HIGHWAY 281 AND CRASHED ON THE WEST SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY ABOUT A 1/4 MILE IN A CORN FIELD.  OPERATOR WAS SPRAYING FIELD EAST TO WEST ON EAST SIDE OF HGHWAY 281. WIRES WERE HIGH TENSION LINES RUNNNG NORTH TO SOUTH ABOUT 100 YARDS IN THE FIELD.  POWER COMPANY ESTIMATE LINE TO AT A HEIGHT OF ABOUT 25.7 FT TO 26.8 FT.  NO DAMAGE TO LINES WAS FOUND.  LINE HIT VERTICAL FIN ABOUT A FOOT DOWN REMOVED THE CAP AND WIRE STRIKE GUIDE CABLE FROM THE AIRCRAFT.  WIRE THEN HIT THE RUDDER TEARING THE AFT SPAR FROM THE VERITICAL AND CAUSING SEPERATION FROM THE AIRCRAFT, CONTROL CABLES WERE HOLDING RUDDER TO THE AIRCRAFT UNTIL THE IMPACT POINT WHEN IT WAS TORN FREE AND ENDED UP UNDER LEFT WING.  AIRCRAFT HIT THE GND AT HIGH ANGLE AND HIGH ENERGY INVERTED HEADING AT A SSE HEADING AND THEN BOUNCING ABOUT 15 FEET TO THE EAST AND COMING TO REST THERE.  NO OTHER FINDINGS OF AIRCRAFT MECHINCAL ISSUES WERE NOTED.

## 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 CEN23FA412](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN23FA412), Sep 19, 2023: Air Tractor AT-502B (N502NB), New Rockford, ND, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from overhead power lines during an aerial application flight. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s decision to fly under the power lines with a…

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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