Mason City Municipal Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Britt, Iowa 50423
Tuesady, July 17, 2012 16:30 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

A witness observed the accident airplane spraying corn about 2 miles south of his farm. He reported that he heard the engine “sputter” and looked south to see if he could see the airplane. At that moment, he observed a “large ball of fire go up.” A power line bordering the east edge of the field being sprayed was severed. In addition, a power line support pole and crossbeam west of the severed power line were damaged. One of the transmission lines was down at that location. Yellow paint transfer marks were observed on the power lines. Fragments attributed to the left wing of the airplane were located in the vicinity of the damaged support pole. The airplane came to rest inverted in the corn field west-northwest of the support pole. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction. Records revealed that the pilot was engaged in cellphone activity during the accident flight, and one call ended shortly before the accident. The NTSB issued a Safety Alert regarding Portable Electronic Devices (PEDs) and it states, “…avoid nonoperational use of PEDs before and during flight."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from power transmission lines during an agricultural application operation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s distracted attention due to personal cell phone use during flight operations.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/17/2012
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1630
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Britt
Event State IOWA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 50423
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 430716N
Event Location Longitude 0934449W
Event Location Airport Mason City Municipal
Event Location Nearest Airport ID MCW
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 19
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1214
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1553 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 81
Weather Observation Facility ID MCW
Elevation of weather observation facility 1217
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 19
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 36
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 18
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 250
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 12
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 17
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.84
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report KMCW 172053Z AUTO 25012G17KT 10SM CLR 36/18 A2984
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31244
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 17 2013 3:03PM
User who most recently changed record rows
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N4843J
NTSB Number CEN12LA453
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 137: Agricultural
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name AIR TRACTOR INC
Aircraft Model AT-402B
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 402B-1207
Certified Max Gross Weight 9170
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 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Jun 1 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 734
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Friesenborg & Larson Custom Spraying LC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Buffalo Center
Aircraft Owner State IA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 50424-7588
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Friesenborg & Larson Custom Spraying LC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Buffalo Center
Operator State IA
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 50424-7588
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate Yes - certificate holder
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 FXY
Departure City Forest City
Departure State IA
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 USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 4 2013 10:58AM
User who most recently changed record sort
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --