# NTSB CEN19TA131: Air Tractor AT 602, N602AM, Quanah, TX, April 28, 2019 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Final report - Date: April 28, 2019, 12:58 local (17:58 UTC) - Place: Quanah, TX - Coordinates: 34.363334, -99.900833 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.3633&lon=-99.9008&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration - NTSB case key (mKey): 99338 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN19TA131 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/99338/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99338 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN19TA131 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the power line during a low altitude aerial application maneuver. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Attention/monitoring: monitoring environment](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545): Personnel issues › Psychological · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-602, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545/cases.md?model=0390309), [All aircraft, 809 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021545/cases.md) - [Object/animal/substance: wire](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Contributed to outcome (probable cause); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-602, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md?model=0390309), [All aircraft, 588 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03022032/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220) (defining event); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-602, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220/sequence.md?model=0390309), [All aircraft, 780 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/220/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-602, 13 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=0390309), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092); cases with it: [Air Tractor AT-602, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=0390309), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was conducting aerial application passes parallel to a transmission power line. During the final trim pass, the pilot flew out of the field and over the power line. As he was passing over the power line, the propeller blades struck a wire that he did not see, and the engine lost power. The pilot indicated that he conducted a controlled "crash landing" about 1.5 miles away from the power line strike during which the airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot further reported that "there was no malfunction prior to hitting the powerline." ## Factual narrative On April 28, 2019, about 1258 central daylight time, an Air Tractor Inc. AT-602 airplane, N602AM, impacted a powerline and subsequently impacted terrain near Quanah, Texas. The commercial pilot reported no injuries. The airplane sustained substantial fuselage damage during the impact with terrain. The airplane was registered to and operated by Buffalo Ridge Airspray LLC as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area about the time of the accident, and the flight was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from the Quanah Municipal Airport, near Quanah, Texas, about 1200. The pilot reported that the airplane was loaded up to spray 200 acres north west of Quanah, Texas, where the wind was from the east northeast about 7 to 9 mph. However, local wind at a nearby airport was 130° at 5 kts. The aerial application passes were conducted east to west, paralleling a transmission powerline. The flight was uneventful for the entire load. Before departing the field location, the pilot performed two "clean up" passes along the west boundary of the field flying from the south to the north. The first north bound heading trim pass was successful. The pilot flew the airplane to the south end of the field to initiate the second and final trim pass. As the pilot flew out of the field over the powerline, he thought the airplane had cleared the powerline. He subsequently thought the propeller blades struck the wire that he did not see and the engine lost power. The pilot conducted the "proper emergency steps such as fuel, feather the prop, and trim the aircraft." He then performed a controlled "crash landing," next to the wheat field he was trying to land in, about 1.5 miles away from the powerline strike. The pilot further reported that "there was no malfunction prior to hitting the powerline." The pilot's safety recommendation stated, "Avoid the powerline entirely by leaving off the "clean up" passes along the west boundary of my field. I could have waited for a south wind to help get my spray under the wire and around the northwest corner of the application area, instead of making the extra "clean up" passes towards the wire." ## Aircraft - Registration: [N602AM](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N602AM-2020-05-23), registration cancelled 2020-05-23, S/N 602-0408, built 1997 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Air Tractor AT 602 (No Series) - Registry model: [Air Tractor AT-602](https://openairdocs.org/model/air-tractor-at-602) (registry code 0390309) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/pratt-whitney-canada-pt6a-66-series) (registry code 52118, turbo-prop) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 602-0408 - Year built: 1997 - Airframe hours: 9582 - Engines: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-60AG 1050 horsepower turbo prop - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Aerial application, Part 137 - Operator: Buffalo Ridge Airspray Llc - Registered owner: Buffalo Ridge Airspray Llc - Airworthiness certificate: Special, Restricted (Special) - Last inspection: December 15, 2018 - Departed: F01, Quanah, TX - Destination: F01, Quanah, TX - Equipment: Stall warning system, Angle of attack indicator ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 25; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review August 28, 2018; seat: single; flight hours: 1,306 total, 23 in this make and model, 1,262 as pilot in command, 50 in the last 90 days, 35 in the last 30 days, 8 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 130° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 57 °F - Altimeter: 29.88 inHg - Observed at: KCDS, 27 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20190428004459A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20190428004459A), Apr 28, 2019: Air Tractor Inc AT-602, Quanah, TX, Destroyed. On April 28, 2019, at approximately 1215 pm, N602AM, an Air tractor AT-602 clipped a powerline with propeller at Quanah, Texas. The aircraft was being operated… ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 12, 2019, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=99338. 2.9 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 2.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40473342&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.