- Date
- July 2, 2004, 20:05 local (Jul 3, 2004, 01:05 UTC)
- Place
- Hillsboro, AL
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9089LAir Tractor AT-402A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report June 28, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Birmingham FSDO
- FAA report
- 20040702014559A
- Case key
- 59794
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and failure to maintain adequate obstacle clearance, which resulted in collision with transmission wires.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
According to the pilot, the airplane collided with the top wire of a transmission tower that "was not visible to [him]." He stated that the airplane spun around 180 degrees to the left, the airplane "was out of control," collided with the ground, and came to rest inverted in a nearby field. Examination of the wreckage site revealed the wreckage debris path extended across the field a distance of 75 feet leading up to the main wreckage site. The tower arm of the transmission tower, that was estimated to be 100 feet high, was bent, and the upper transmission wire was separated. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the engine assembly separated from the engine mounts. The propeller hub was separated from the crankshaft. The engine cowling and fuselage were crushed aft to the pilot compartment. The right wingtip was separated. The leading edge of the right wing was crushed beginning about midspan outboard to the end of the wing. The left wing was partially separated at the root and completely separated approximately midspan. The left horizontal stabilizer leading edge was crushed aft.
Factual narrative
On July 2, 2004, at 2005 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-402-A agricultural airplane, N9089L, registered to and operated by a private individual, collided with a transmission wire while surveying a field in Hillsboro, Alabama. The local flight was conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 91, and visual flight rules. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed. The pilot received minor injuries and the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight originated at Lawrence County Airport, Courtland, Alabama, on July 2, 2004 at 1930.
According to the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to survey a field he was to spray the following morning. The pilot stated that upon over-flying the field, the airplane collided with the top wire of a transmission tower that "was not visible to [him]." He stated that the airplane spun around 180 degrees to the left, the airplane "was out of control," collided with the ground, and came to rest inverted in a nearby field.
Examination of the wreckage site revealed the wreckage debris path extended across the field a distance of 75 feet leading up to the main wreckage site. The tower arm of the transmission tower, that was estimated to be 100 feet high, was bent, and the upper transmission wire was separated.
Examination of the wreckage revealed that the engine assembly separated from the engine mounts, and the propeller hub was separated from the crankshaft. The engine cowling and fuselage were crushed aft to the pilot compartment. The right wingtip was separated, and the leading edge of the right wing was crushed beginning about midspan outboard to the end of the wing. The left wing was partially separated at the root and completely separated approximately midspan. The left horizontal stabilizer leading edge was crushed aft. The pilot did not report a mechanical problem with the airplane during the flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9089L
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-402A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 402A-1118
- Airframe hours
- 2,029
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney PT6A, 680 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Buster Thornton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special); Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · February 7, 2004 · 98 hours before
- Departed
- 9A4 · Courtland, AL
- Airport
- 9A4 · Lawrence County Airport
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 27
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- February 10, 2004
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 3,200 total · 100 in this make and model · 100 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 180° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 3,600 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.03 inHg
- Observed at
- kdcu, 12 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.