Air Tractor AT-802 N22FK
14 July 2023 · Benson, Minnesota, United States · No injuries
Summary
On 14 July 2023 at about 21:30 local time, a Air Tractor AT-802 registered N22FK was involved in an accident near Benson, Minnesota, 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.
The record
- Date
- at 21:30
- Classification
- Accident
- Location
- Benson, Minnesota, United States
- Nearest airport
- Benson Municipal Airport (KBBB)
- Coordinates
- 45.1009, -95.5424
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-802
- Registration
- N22FK
- Category
- Airplane
- Year built
- 2022
- Engines
- 1
- Operator
- Not recorded
- Operating rule
- Part 137: Agricultural
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial Application
- Phase of flight
- Not recorded
- Route
- Benson → Benson
- Aircraft damage
- Substantial
- Weather
- VMC
- Light
- Day
- NTSB number
- CEN23LA311
People
Nobody was injured.
| On board | Died | Serious | Minor | Uninjured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to adequately survey a field for obstructions prior to a low-level aerial application pass, which resulted in an impact with a powerline. Contributing to the accident was the degraded visibility due to the smoke in the area.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.
Read the full NTSB narrative
The pilot reported that on the afternoon of the aerial application flight, the visibility was degrading due to smoke from nearby wildfires. Upon arrival at the target field, he circled twice to study the powerlines and obstacles, where he observed two distantly spaced power poles, and mistakenly thought they were termination points of a powerline. During the low-level aerial application pass, the airplane subsequently impacted a powerline as he flew between the power poles. The pilot returned to the airport and landed without incident. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right aileron. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.
Other Air Tractor AT-802 accidents
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug 2023 | Air Tractor AT-802 | Gilman City, Missouri, United States | Rice Flying LLC | Fatal | 1 |
| 28 Sep 2023 | Air Tractor AT-802 | Herington, Kansas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 10 Sep 2024 | Air Tractor AT-802 | Hickory Valley, Tennessee, United States | Miles Flying Service Inc | No injuries | - |
| 20 Jun 2024 | Air Tractor AT-802 | Arco, Idaho, United States | Visser AG Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 4 Jul 2024 | Air Tractor AT-802 | Brad, Texas, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 25 Jul 2021 | Air Tractor AT-802 | Benoit, Mississippi, United States | Old River Flying Service LLC | Fatal | 1 |
Other accidents in this area
| Date | Aircraft | Location | Operator | Outcome | Died |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 Feb 2023 | Cessna 172S | Princeton, Minnesota, United States | Twin Cities Flight Training, Inc | No injuries | - |
| 27 Jun 2023 | Schweizer G-164B | Beltrami, Minnesota, United States | Gasper Air Spray, Inc | Fatal | 1 |
| 11 May 2023 | Loehle Acft 5151 MUSTANG | Hector, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 17 Sep 2023 | Cessna 150K | South Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States | - | No injuries | - |
| 30 Jun 2023 | Icon A5 | Onamia, Minnesota, United States | - | Fatal | 1 |
| 12 Mar 2023 | Socata TB21 | Eden Prairie, Minnesota, United States | - | Serious injuries | - |