- Date
- May 8, 1990, 06:35 local (10:35 UTC)
- Place
- Tyrone, PA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N2369NAir Tractor AT-400
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900508014699A
- Case key
- 36493
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 adequate clearance from obstructions during low level aerial application operations. The pilot's inadequate visual lookout was a factor.
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 stated that he made two uneventful aerial application passes in a valley area without observing any obstructions. On the third pass, the airplane struck powerlines that had been strung from ridgetop to ridgetop. The aircraft then descended into a wooded hillside and erupted with fire after impact. The pilot stated that he had overflown the area looking for obstacles prior to beginning the aerial application operation. He reported that he never saw the powerlines before the airplane hit them.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2369N
- Reported as
- Air Tractor AT-400
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 400-0416
- Airframe hours
- 2,300
- Engine
- P&W PT6-15AG, 680 horsepower, turbo prop
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Aerial application · Part 137
- Operator
- Aero Tech,Inc.
- Registered owner
- Ted Stallings
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Restricted (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 3, 1990 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- 7G4 · Newry, PA
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
- 32
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 10,000 total · 2,500 in this make and model · 9,000 as pilot in command · 150 in the last 90 days · 75 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 57 °F, dew point 43 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AOO
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 N2369N · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.