- Date
- July 21, 2022, 18:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- East Grand Forks, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N1540SAir Tractor AT-502
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: 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
- FAA Minneapolis
- FAA report
- 20220721008419I
- Case key
- 105579
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 clearance from the power lines during a low-level application pass.
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, while maneuvering to apply chemical to a field at low altitude, the top of the vertical stabilizer struck a set of power lines. The pilot reported that “the rudder was hammed and [he] had no rudder control.” The pilot made a forced landing in a wheat field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported no preaccident failures or malfunctions with the airplane before the collision with the power lines that would have precluded normal operations.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1540S
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-502 (NO SERIES)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 502-0171
- Built
- 1992
- Airframe hours
- 11,602
- Engine
- Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6A-15AG, 680 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special); Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 2, 2022
- Departed
- N/A · East Grand Forks, MN
- Destination
- N/A · East Grand Forks, MN
- Airport
- N/A
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
- 48
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- March 19, 2022
- Seat
- Single
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 2,641 total · 104 in this make and model · 2,456 as pilot in command · 105 in the last 90 days · 104 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 260° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 76 °F, dew point 63 °F
- Altimeter
- 2989.00 inHg
- Observed at
- Unkown, 1 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 15, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.8 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.