- Date
- June 23, 2016, 06:40 local (11:40 UTC)
- Place
- Lazbuddie, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N127PBThrush S2R
- Defining event
- Maneuvering-low-alt flying: Low altitude operation/event
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Status
- Completed · report September 12, 2016
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- General Aviation Accidents
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20160623010549A
- Case key
- 93458
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 avoid the metering loop pole during an aerial application.
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 on his first spray pass of a cornfield during an aerial application, he misjudged the distance of the airplane to a metering loop pole. The right wing of the airplane impacted the metering loop pole, which resulted in damage to the right wing. The pilot further reported that he decided to land to evaluate the damage and that the subsequent landing was uneventful. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that on his first spray pass of a cornfield during an aerial application, he misjudged the distance of the airplane to a metering loop pole. The right wing of the airplane impacted the metering loop pole, which resulted in damage to the right wing. The pilot further reported that he decided to land to evaluate the damage and that the subsequent landing was uneventful. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N127PB
- Reported as
- Thrush S2R (T65)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- T65-022DC
- Built
- 2009
- Airframe hours
- 3,509
- Engine
- Pratt & Whitney PT-6-60AG, 1,050 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Wilbur Ellis Co.
- Registered owner
- Wilbur Ellis Co.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 1, 2016
- Equipment
- Stall warning system
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
- 44
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- January 27, 2016
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- 5-point
- Flight hours
- 15,728 total · 1,735 in this make and model · 15,615 as pilot in command · 80 in the last 90 days · 30 in the last 30 days · 7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dawn
- Wind
- 220° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 59 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.12 inHg
- Observed at
- KHRX, 26 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 31, 2016, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 722 KB 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.