- Date
- July 11, 2021, 07:45 local (12:45 UTC)
- Place
- Newell, IA · 42.634578 x -94.981444
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N949TMAir Tractor AT802
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20210711004289A
- Case key
- 103453
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 failure to maintain adequate clearance from crops during an agricultural flight.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was in the process of spraying a corn field and climbed to avoid trees that were in his path. When he descended back toward the field, the airplane settled more than expected and the landing gear and bottom of the airplane hit the corn. The pilot was unable to climb the airplane out of the corn and the left wing hit the ground. The airplane rotated about 180°, bounced, then impacted the ground on the right wing and engine, before it came to rest upright. The pilot was not injured and he stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mounts, both wings, and empennage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N949TM
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT802 (A)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 802A-0888
- Built
- 2021
- Airframe hours
- 40.3
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-67AG, 1,220 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Midwest Custom Ag Aviation
- Registered owner
- Diversified Applications
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- POH · Pocahontas, IA
- Equipment
- ADS-B
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
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 22, 2021
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 1,864.6 total · 348 in this make and model · 30 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 0.5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 10° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.06 inHg
- Observed at
- KSLB, 12 nm away
- METAR
- KSLB 111255Z AUTO 01010KT 10SM CLR 17/17 A3006 RMK AO2
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 31, 2021, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 9.9 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.