Air Tractor AT 502B N2063B

Summary

On 19 June 2018 at about 12:15 local time, a Air Tractor AT 502B registered N2063B, operated by Deterding JIM, was involved in an accident near Enid, Oklahoma, 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

19 June 2018 at 12:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Enid, Oklahoma, United States

Coordinates

36.4725, -97.9403

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT 502B

Registration

N2063B

Category

Airplane

Year built

2012

Engines

1

Operator

Deterding JIM

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Pond Creek → Pond Creek

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN18FA232

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to see and avoid a known obstacle (communications tower) during agricultural spraying operations.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The agricultural airplane was dispatched to apply fertilizer to a nearby field that he had fertilized the previous day. One witness observed the airplane make 8-10 passes over the field then saw the airplane fly low, pop up, and make a turn. According to the witness, the airplane ran into the guy wire of a tower and then the airplane "twisted violently…and dropped straight down." The 405-ft-tall tower was properly painted and lighted and was marked on the sectional chart. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane struck the top portion of the tower and impacted the ground in a near-vertical attitude. Detailed examination of the airplane and engine did not reveal any pre-impact mechanical anomalies that would preclude normal operation. Toxicology testing detected doxylamine, a potentially impairing sedating antihistamine, in the pilot's blood and urine. While the detected level was within the normally sedating range, because doxylamine undergoes postmortem redistribution, levels in postmortem blood may be elevated above antemortem levels. Therefore, whether the pilot was impaired by the sedating effects of doxylamine at the time of the accident could not be determined. Additionally, the toxicology testing identified an antidepressant, citalopram, in the tested samples. Citalopram itself is not known to cause significant impairment but major depression can significantly affect judgment, response time, and executive functioning. However, because the pilot's health care prescriber could not be identified, the extent of any potential depressive symptoms at the time of the accident could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.