Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marmaduke, Arkansas 72443
Wednesday, October 2, 2002 14:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During the aerial application flight, two fields were being sprayed from east to the west with a set of power lines running north and south between the fields. The pilot would fly the airplane over the power lines and then descend to spray the field. During the accident swath descent to spray the east field, the airplane struck the ground. The pilot and local authorities reported that the winds were "strong" from the southwest. The weather observation facility, located approximately 22 nautical miles southwest of the accident site, reported the wind from 250 degrees at 4 knots, visibility 10 statute miles, few clouds at 4,000 feet agl and a broken ceiling at 5,500 feet agl, temperature 31 degrees Celsius, dew point 22 degrees Celsius, an altimeter setting of 30.01 inches of Mercury, and towering cumulus clouds in all quadrants.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control. A contributing factor was the towering cumulus in all quadrants.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/2/2002
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Marmaduke
Event State ARKANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 72443
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 354955N
Event Location Longitude 0903846W
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1453 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 45
Weather Observation Facility ID JBR
Elevation of weather observation facility 262
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 22
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 5500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 31
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 22
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.01
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report Towering cumulus all quadrants.
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14432
NTSB Notification Source FAA FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Oct 3 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Nov 25 2003 11:36AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Little Rock, Arkansas

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N155HF
NTSB Number FTW03LA004
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Air Tractor
Aircraft Model AT-400
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 0488
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 28 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 400
Airframe Hours 6200
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Glenn Kuntz
Aircraft Owner Street Address RR 5 Box 48
Aircraft Owner City Carthage
Aircraft Owner State MS
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 39051
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code ZPJG
Owner has at least one certificate --
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Agriculture
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Aerial Application
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code --
Departure City Marmaduke
Departure State AR
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering - aerial application
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record May 22 2003 11:07AM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --