Air Tractor AT 502 N15400

Summary

On 24 July 2019 at about 18:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT 502 registered N15400, operated by Aurora Cooperative Elevator, was involved in an accident near Stanton, Texas, 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

24 July 2019 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Stanton, Texas, United States

Coordinates

32.2014, -101.6886

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT 502

Registration

N15400

Category

Airplane

Year built

1992

Engines

1

Operator

Aurora Cooperative Elevator

Operating rule

Part 137: Agricultural

Purpose of flight

Aerial Application

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Stanton → Stanton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA453

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from wires during an agricultural application flight.  

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during an agricultural application flight, he had reconnoitered the area of operation, but on the last pass, the airplane struck an unseen wire. He recalled that "the airplane's right wing was trying to drop," and he tried to keep the airplane level, but the right wing collided with the ground, and the airplane cartwheeled and then came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.