Private Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Hanley Falls, Minnesota 56245
Tuesady, August 14, 2012 16:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was conducting an agricultural application pass at the time of the accident. He was flying near a set of power line support poles on the edge of the field in order to establish a global positioning system reference line for subsequent application passes. He was looking to the left to maintain clearance with the support poles when he observed guy wires in his flight path. He immediately pulled up and rolled to the right; however, the left wing struck a guy wire. The airplane impacted the ground inverted, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. The pilot stated that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the airplane before the accident. He noted that making the guy wires more visible and greater awareness on his part might have prevented the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a guy wire during an agricultural application pass.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/14/2012
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Hanley Falls
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 56245
Event Date Year 2012
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 444210N
Event Location Longitude 0954310W
Event Location Airport Private
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVT
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 --
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1552 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 68
Weather Observation Facility ID GDB
Elevation of weather observation facility 1047
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
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) 21
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 15
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 90
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 4
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.93
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
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) 30229
NTSB Notification Source FAA -- MSP FSDO
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Sep 24 2012 7:46PM
User who most recently changed record snyg
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1021D
NTSB Number CEN12CA546
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-502
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 502-0064
Certified Max Gross Weight 8000
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 1
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Apr 2 2012 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 95
Airframe Hours 10575
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name NORTHSTAR AEROSPRAY INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City CLARA CITY
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 56222-1096
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name NORTHSTAR AEROSPRAY INC
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City CLARA CITY
Operator State MN
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 56222-1096
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 PVT
Departure City Clara City
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1450
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code PVT
Destination City Clara City
Destination State MN
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Aug 20 2012 5:46PM
User who most recently changed record sort
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --