Thrush S-2R N5596X

Summary

On 7 August 2012 at about 17:20 local time, a Thrush S-2R registered N5596X, operated by Bluestem Aerial Sprayers LLC, was involved in an accident near Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

7 August 2012 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Newkirk, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

36.9500, -96.9519

Aircraft

Thrush S-2R

Registration

N5596X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Bluestem Aerial Sprayers LLC

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newkirk → Newkirk

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12CA533

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from power lines.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During an aerial application flight over a river, the pilot was spreading seed when the airplane struck and severed all four wires of an electrical transmission power line. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted tall vegetation. The fuselage, empennage, and both wings were substantially damaged. According to the pilot and photographs of the area, neither the transmission wires nor the poles were visible above the tree line adjacent to the river banks. The pilot stated that he had been warned about the transmission lines that extended over the river and should have located them before the application portion of the flight began.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.