Ayres S-2R accident near Swanton, MD
On May 19, 2002, an Ayres S-2R (airplane) was involved in an accident near Swanton, MD. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 19, 2002
- Place
- Swanton, MD
- Aircraft
- Ayres S-2R · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 39.436°N, 79.116°W
- NTSB ID
- 20020524X00730
Official records · IAD02FA052
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 19, 2002, at 1235 eastern daylight time, an Ayres Corporation S-2R, N88MQ, was destroyed after it collided with power lines while maneuvering near Swanton, Maryland. The certificated commercial pilot was fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed Cumberland Airport (CBE), Cumberland, Maryland, about 1215. No flight plan was filed for the local aerial application flight, conducted under 14 CFR Part 137. A park ranger, who was in the area at the time of the accident, stated that she observed a yellow airplane make several low passes. As the airplane flew along a tree line, it clipped the top of the trees directly above where she was standing. Several minutes later, she heard a "zing-type noise," followed by the sound of two impacts. The head park ranger stated that shortly before the accident, a caller reported an airplane flying "erratically" in the area. The head ranger and another ranger departed their office, and proceeded to the top of the Jennings Randolph Dam, where they observed a yellow airplane doing an aerial application in the valley. The airplane made two passes up one side of the river, then down the other side of the river. As the airplane began it's third pass, it was headed south. The head ranger commented to the other ranger that the airplane was too low, and that he would not make it over the ridgeline. At the time, the airplane was in a descent, the wings were level, it was spraying, and the engine sounded "strong." The head ranger could not see the power lines from where he was standin
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain visual separation from a set of known, yet unmarked power lines.
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Browse: Maryland · Ayres aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
