Individually Owned: 151,845
Corporate Owned: 143,699
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 | -- |