- Date
- August 1, 2022, 06:45 local (11:45 UTC)
- Place
- Washington, LA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N407CTAir Tractor AT-502
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
- 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, Baton Rouge FSDO
- FAA report
- 20220801008469A
- Case key
- 105643
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 a wire during an aerial application of a field.
Findings · 1
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 on the first aerial application flight of the day, he saw a wire on the edge of the field to be sprayed and decided that he could fly under the wire to perform the spray pass. During the pass, the airplane’s rudder struck the wire and tore the rudder off. The airplane returned to the departure airport and during landing, lost directional control due to missing rudder and ground looped. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder from the wire strike and to the fuselage during the ground loop. The pilot reported that there was no preaccident failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N407CT
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-502
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 502-0076
- Engine
- Pratt&Whitney, 680 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Crosswind Aviation LLC
- Registered owner
- Crosswind Aviation LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- 17LS · Port Barre, LA
- Destination
- 17LS · Port Barre, LA
- Airport
- 17LS · Yankee Field Airport
- Equipment
- Handheld GPS
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
- 26
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 15, 2021
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 1,500 in this make and model · 2,000 as pilot in command · 40 in the last 90 days · 60 in the last 30 days · 40 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.11 inHg
- Observed at
- OPL
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on January 26, 2023, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 6.6 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.