Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Udall, Kansas 67146
Sunday, May 5, 2013 17:45 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot of an aerial application flight reported that he arrived at the field and conducted three surveillance orbits to check for obstacles and wires. The pilot flew five spraying passes over the field, but on the sixth pass, the airplaneā€™s propeller and landing gear struck a powerline. The airplane started vibrating severely, and the pilot executed a forced landing to a nearby field. During the landing roll, the left wing struck a large bush that turned the airplane sideways as it skidded to a stop, which resulted in substantial damage to the wing. The pole associated with the powerline that was struck was located in the tree line, and the pilot did not see the low hanging powerline that ran at an angle across the field. He did not have a map of the field, and he was not informed about the low hanging powerline.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate flight planning, which resulted in a wire strike.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/5/2013
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1745
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Udall
Event State KANSAS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 67146
Event Date Year 2013
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
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 Pilot
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 Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 360
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator --
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 31475
NTSB Notification Source FAA-ACE-ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 11 2013 12:15PM
User who most recently changed record silj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N628JP
NTSB Number CEN13LA263
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 INC
Aircraft Model AT-602
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 602-0564
Certified Max Gross Weight 12500
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 Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name MATTERN ROD
Aircraft Owner Street Address 404 W LAKEVIEW LN
Aircraft Owner City DAWSON
Aircraft Owner State ND
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 58428-9502
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Andy Deterding Ag Aviation
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Pond Creek
Operator State OK
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 73766
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 EGT
Departure City Wellington
Departure State KS
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1700
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Udall
Destination State KS
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jun 6 2013 2:22PM
User who most recently changed record silj
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --