Air Tractor AT 402A N321DA
4 September 2015 · Fort Pierre, South Dakota, United States · Minor injuries
Summary
On 4 September 2015 at about 13:55 local time, a Air Tractor AT 402A registered N321DA, operated by Randy A. Yost / Barbara J. Yost, was involved in an accident near Fort Pierre, South Dakota, United States. One person was on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.
The record
- Date
- at 13:55
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Fort Pierre, South Dakota, United States
- Coordinates
- 44.3767, -100.6314
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT 402A
- Registration
- N321DA
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 1991
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Randy A. Yost / Barbara J. Yost
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Hayes → Hayes
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- GAA15CA251
People
1 person had minor injuries.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain obstacle clearance, which resulted in the airplane striking guy-wires during aerial application operations.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that after conducting a pass over a field during an aerial application flight, he passed clear of a tower but did not see the tower support guy-wires and collided with them. He stated, "After the guy-wire impact there was an immediate sound of the engine starting to lose power and/or shut down." The pilot then performed an emergency landing on a gravel road without further incident. A post flight inspection revealed substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The pilot reported there were no pre-impact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Air Tractor AT-402A accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Apr 2015 | Air Tractor AT 402A | Brickeys, Arkansas, United States | Taylor Air Service LLC | No injuries | - |
| 21 Aug 2017 | Air Tractor AT 402A | Shaw, Mississippi, United States | Boair Inc | Minor injuries | - |
| 2 Apr 2012 | Air Tractor AT-402A | Ganado, Texas, United States | Nelson Flying Service | No injuries | - |
| 5 May 2011 | Air Tractor AT-402A | Arriba, Colorado, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 12 Jun 2009 | Air Tractor AT-402A | Trumann, Arkansas, United States | 5G's Aviation LLC | No injuries | - |
| 16 Jul 2007 | Air Tractor AT-402A | Laurel, Iowa, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Jun 2015 | Air Tractor AT 401 | Wall, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 27 Feb 2015 | Zenith Acft STOL CH 701 | Marion, South Dakota, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 5 Oct 2015 | Robinson R44 | Parkston, South Dakota, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 14 Jul 2015 | Air Creation CLIPPER 582 | Clark, South Dakota, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |
| 28 May 2015 | Bell 47G 3B 1 | Fort Pierre, South Dakota, United States | Scotts Helicopter Service | No injuries | - |
| 19 Oct 2015 | Cessna 180H | Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States | - | No injuries | - |