- Date
- July 23, 1994, 06:45 local (11:45 UTC)
- Place
- Eckelson, ND
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N7301YAir Tractor AT-301
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 25, 1995
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19940723019589A
- Case key
- 9605
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 transmission wire. A factor associated with the accident is the transmission wire.
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 pilot reported he was making a final aerial application run over a fifty acre field. As he crossed over a transmission wire which bordered the field, the main landing gear snagged a wire, and the airplane descended uncontrollably to ground collision.
Factual narrative
On July 23, 1994, about 0645 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-301 airplane, N7301Y, sustained substantial damage when it collided with a transmission wire and terrain near Eckelson, North Dakota. The solo commercial pilot aboard received minor injuries. The aerial application flight operated without flight plan in visual meteorological conditions under 14 CFR Part 137.
The pilot reported he was making a final swath run and was crossing above transmission lines which bisected the field. When he felt that he had cleared the lines, he nosed the airplane over to lose altitude. One wheel of the main landing gear struck a transmission line during the descent. The pilot was unable to maintain control of the airplane and collided with terrain.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7301Y
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 301-0590
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Kevin Hoggarth
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Departed
- 8ND8 · Jamestown, 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
- 49
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Unknown
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 2,035 total · 850 in this make and model · 1,950 as pilot in command · 110 in the last 90 days · 50 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- JMS, 16 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.
Other investigations on N7301Y · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.