Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Paragould, Arkansas 72450
Sunday, April 20, 2008 18:30 CDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The pilot was spraying a field when he struck a set of electrical wires with the right wing and elevator. The airplane remained controllable except for a slight vibration, and the pilot elected to return to the operator's private airstrip located about 6-7 miles away to assess the damage. While on final approach, he heard a slight thump and realized the elevator control had locked up. The pilot was able to break the controls loose, but they felt stiff. The airplane veered off course and headed toward a center pivot that was located just east of the airstrip. The pilot added power to clear the pivot and the nose of the airplane pitched up sharply. The pilot was able to regain control and level off, but he needed to place both hands on the control column to offset the pressure. The pilot then headed toward an open field south of the private airstrip in an attempt to make an emergency landing. He called the operator on the radio and stated that something was coming apart on the airplane and that the outcome of the situation was not going to be good. Shortly after, with both hands and his knee on the control column, the pilot heard a popping sound and the airplane pitched up almost vertically. The airplane then stalled and descended toward the ground at a very steep angle The airplane collided with trees and came to rest near a small body of water. The airplane sustained structural damage to both wings, and the tail section had partially separated and was displaced about 90 degrees. The pilot stated that if it were not for the fact that he was wearing a helmet and his shoulder harness, his injuries would have been much more severe.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from electrical wires while maneuvering. Contributing to the accident were binding of the elevator control, inadvertent stall and trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 4/20/2008 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1830 |
| Event Time Zone | Central Daylight Time |
| Event City | Paragould |
| Event State | ARKANSAS |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 72450 |
| Event Date Year | 2008 |
| Event Date Month | 4 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 360328N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0903017W |
| 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 | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Unknown |
| Time of the weather observation | |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | -- |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | -- |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | -- |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | -- |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | -- |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | -- |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | -- |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | -- |
| Variable Wind Indicator | -- |
| Wind Speed (knots) | -- |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Unknown |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | -- |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | -- |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 1 |
| Investigating Agency | -- |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 23577 |
| NTSB Notification Source | LIt FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | May 28 2008 12:03PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\johb |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N8517M |
| NTSB Number | DFW08CA104 |
| 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 | -- |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Air Tractor |
| Aircraft Model | AT-602 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 602-1126 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | -- |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | -- |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | -- |
| Date of Last Inspection | -- |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | -- |
| ELT Activated | -- |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | -- |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Alaska Aviation Leasing, Inc |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | -- |
| Aircraft Owner State | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Country | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | -- |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Hog Air Aviation, Inc |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Paragould |
| Operator State | AR |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | -- |
| Operator Code | H5TG |
| 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 | No |
| Departure Airport Code | -- |
| Departure City | Private |
| Departure State | AR |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | -- |
| Departure Time Zone | -- |
| 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 |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Apr 30 2008 3:15PM |
| User who most recently changed record | GAMW |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | -- |
| Runway Length | -- |
| Runway Width | -- |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |