- Date
- July 15, 2007, 10:30 local (15:30 UTC)
- Place
- Lignite, ND
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8841SAir Tractor AT-301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 31, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Fargo, ND FSDO
- Case key
- 66461
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 poor in-flight planning and failure to maintain control of the airplane when he encountered his own vortex turbulence at a low altitude.
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
The airplane contacted the ground and power lines following a loss of control during an aerial application flight. The pilot reported that prior to spraying, he circled the field four or five times waiting for traffic to clear on a nearby road. He stated he also dropped smoke to make sure the chemical would not drift toward the road. The pilot reported that during the last circle the airplane started to settle until it contacted the terrain. The airplane then bounced and contacted the power lines. The airplane settled back to the ground, and slid across a ditch and the road before coming to rest in a grove of trees. The pilot reported that the airplane most likely contacted a vortex which resulted from the circles he made around the field. In addition, the pilot reported that he did not dump the chemical load when the airplane first started to settle toward the ground.
Factual narrative
The airplane contacted the ground and power lines following a loss of control during an aerial application flight. The pilot reported that prior to spraying, he circled the field four or five times waiting for traffic to clear on a nearby road. He stated he also dropped smoke to make sure the chemical would not drift toward the road. The pilot reported that during the last circle the airplane started to settle until it contacted the terrain. The airplane then bounced and contacted the power lines. The airplane settled back to the ground, and slid across a ditch and the road before coming to rest in a grove of trees. The pilot reported that the airplane most likely contacted a vortex which resulted from the circles he made around the field. In addition, the pilot reported that he did not dump the chemical load when the airplane first started to settle toward the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8841S
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0212
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney R-1340, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Northern Ag Service Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- 7K5 · Kenmare, ND
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
- 64
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2
- Flight hours
- 8,784 total · 3,099 in this make and model · 8,784 as pilot in command · 224 in the last 90 days · 185 in the last 30 days · 8 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
Other investigations on N8841S · 2
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.