Air Tractor AT502 accident near Placedo, TX

On October 12, 2018, an Air Tractor AT502 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Placedo, TX. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

October 12, 2018

Place

Placedo, TX

Aircraft

Air Tractor AT502 · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

28.706°N, 96.804°W

NTSB ID

20181012X14551

Official records · CEN19FA003

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• FCC Antenna Tower Information: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 12, 2018, at 1831 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502B airplane, N6135P, impacted an antenna tower near Placedo, Texas. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a postimpact fire. The airplane was registered to and operated by Coastal Flying Service Inc., Ganado, Texas, as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 137 aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from the operator's private airstrip near Ganado, Texas, about 1730. On the day of the accident, the pilot had completed two flights before the accident flight. The first flight departed about 0930 and the second about 1015. The accident flight was the third flight of the day. The airplane was fueled to about 3/4 capacity (120 gallons) before the flight. The application load consisted of about 460 gallons of herbicide. According to a representative of the operator, this was the first time the pilot had sprayed that particular field. The southwest corner of the field was located 1/2-mile east-northeast of a radio antenna tower. Before the flight, they had reviewed the potential hazards using available satellite imagery. Of note were the power lines running along the south side of the field and the antenna tower. A witness stated that he was outside in his yard, about 3 miles east-northeast of the radio antenna, when he observed the airplane fly over. The airplane seemed to be flying along the road in a west-so

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the antenna tower, a known obstruction, during the agricultural application flight. Contributing to the accident was glare from the sun which hindered the pilot's ability to see and avoid the antenna tower.

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.