- Date
- August 22, 1995, 18:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Taft, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9190QAir Tractor AT-401
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report January 29, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19950822025429A
- Case key
- 19552
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 diverted attention, which resulted in his failure to assure that clearance was maintained from the transmission line.
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
As the pilot completed his second pass, he looked back 'to see where the spray was going,' and the airplane's right wing struck the top two static wires on an electrical transmission line. The airplane then entered a nose down attitude and impacted the ground.
Factual narrative
On August 22, 1995, at 1830 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-401, N9190Q, collided with wires while maneuvering near Taft, Texas. The commercial pilot/operator was not injured and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane departed Portland, Texas, at 1820 for the aerial application flight conducted under Title 14 CFR Part 137. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed.
According to the pilot, he was spraying an obstructed area and had completed one pass when he noticed the spray was not being deposited in the intended location. He decided "to make a second pass upwind from the previous one." As the pilot completed the second pass, he "momentarily" looked back "to see where the spray was going." The airplane's right wing struck the top two static wires on an electrical transmission line. The airplane entered a "60 to 70 degree nose down attitude" and impacted the ground "hard." A post-impact fire consumed the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9190Q
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-401
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 401-0925
- Airframe hours
- 798
- Engine
- P&W R-1340-AN1, 600 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Registered owner
- Jeffrey D. Hunt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 21, 1994 · 442 hours before
- Departed
- 9R5 · Portland, TX
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
- 43
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 5,383 total · 1,343 in this make and model · 5,234 as pilot in command · 380 in the last 90 days · 150 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 50° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 11,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 88 °F, dew point 77 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
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 N9190Q · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.