Air Tractor AT 602 N4196Y

Summary

On 29 June 2017 at about 12:40 local time, a Air Tractor AT 602 registered N4196Y, operated by Wilbur Ellis Co, was involved in an accident near Stirum, North Dakota, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 June 2017 at 12:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Stirum, North Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Lisbon Airport (6L3)

Coordinates

46.2197, -97.8303

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT 602

Registration

N4196Y

Category

Airplane

Year built

2010

Engines

1

Operator

Wilbur Ellis Co

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Lisbon → Lisbon

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA244

1 person died.

The pilot's decision to attempt flight with low-level fog in the area, which resulted in an encounter with instrument meteorological conditions and impact with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

An employee of the operator reported that the planned aerial application flight was delayed about 2 hours while the pilot waited for the weather conditions to improve. The pilot had spoken with individuals by phone before the flight in an attempt to assess the local conditions. The visibility at the airport was about 1-1/2 miles when the pilot departed. A witness reported that she was sitting on her patio when she heard the airplane. The sound of the engine was normal, "not anything unusual at all." She observed the airplane emerge from the fog and "within seconds" impact the ground. The airplane was level or descending slightly and did not appear to change its flight path before impacting gradually rising terrain. She noted that the airplane did not appear to be out of control, nor did it seem that anything was wrong mechanically. She recalled that it was "very, very foggy" at the time, with about 200 yards visibility. There was no precipitation and little or no wind at the time. A postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction. It is likely that the pilot encountered instrument meteorological conditions while operating at a low level and inadvertently impacted the terrain.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.