NTSB Factual Report

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On July 19, 2013, about 1034 eastern daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-802A airplane, N86BM, collided with suspended power lines near the Huntingburg Airport (KHNB), Huntingburg, Indiana. The commercial pilot sustained serious injuries and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was registered to and operated by Milhon Air, Inc. under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight, which operated without a flight plan. The local flight originated from KHNB at 0930.

The pilot was conducting an aerial application run and was flying on an easterly heading. According to witnesses, the airplane struck a suspended power line and subsequently impacted terrain about 1 ½ miles east of KHNB. After the initial impact, the airplane continued towards and came to rest near a group of trees located next to a lake.

The pilot was interviewed by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors and stated that he had no recollection of the accident flight.

The FAA inspectors examined the accident scene and wreckage. They noted that the power line poles ran north-south and on the east side of the field being sprayed. The power line was severed from the impact and laid on the ground in the direction of the accident.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The pilot, age 53, held a commercial pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single engine land, multiengine land, and instrument airplane. He received a second class FAA medical certificate on March 11, 2013 with the provision that he must wear corrective lenses for near and distant vision. The owner of Milhon Air, Inc. reported that the pilot accumulated about 3,400 hours total flight time and 600 hours in the make and model of the accident airplane. The pilot also accumulated 75 flight hours in the preceding 90 days, 25 hours in the preceding 30 days, and 8 hours in the preceding 24 hours.

The pilot's logbook was not made available to investigators during the course of the investigation.

According to the operator, the pilot had 3 years of experience flying agricultural operations similar to the accident flight. Also, he was well trained in procedures pertaining to spraying fields with obstructions present.

AIRCRAFT INFORMATION

The accident airplane was a single-seat, low wing, agricultural Air Tractor AT-802A, manufactured in 2008. The airplane was powered by a Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-65AG turbo prop engine, which drove a Hartzell HC B5MP 3F, controllable pitch propeller. The airplane's maximum gross weight was 16,000 pounds and the maximum hopper load was 8,800 pounds.

According to Milhon Air, Inc., the airplane received a 100-hour inspection on July 12, 2013 at a total airframe time of 1,018 hours. According the FAA, the airplane received an annual/100-hour inspection on April 14, 2013 at a Hobbs time of 980 hours.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The automated weather reporting station located at KHNB reported at 1035: wind from 230 degrees at 11 knots, 10 miles visibility, clear sky, temperature 82 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point 72 degrees F, and a barometric pressure of 30.07 inches of mercury.

During the time of the accident the sun was rising out of the east.

WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION

The intended spray path was situated in a small valley and was surrounded by trees on the north and south sides. The airplane struck a power line which was situated on a north-south heading at the eastern edge of the intended spray field. The power line was severed and laid on the ground in the direction of the accident. The airplane impacted the ground about 800 feet from the power lines and continued up a hill for about 100 feet. The airplane came to rest upright next to a group of trees and near the bank of a lake. Parts of the airplane were scattered between the lake and the main wreckage.

The left and right wings impacted the ground 20 feet and 27 feet respectively from the initial point of impact. The wings struck the ground at a level attitude. Both wing fuel tanks were breached and signs of jet fuel were found up to the main wreckage. The left and right wing spars were bent forward and damaged during the impact sequence.

The empennage was separated from the fuselage aft of the cargo compartment. It was twisted in a clockwise direction. The main landing gear separated from the fuselage and the tail wheel remained attached to the empennage.

The seat remained attached to the airframe and the 5-point seatbelt and shoulder harness remained attached at the attach points. The seat belt was released under normal operation and was not cut by first responders.

The engine separated from the fuselage and was impact damaged. Three of the four propeller blades separated and one blade remained attached at the propeller hub. All blades exhibited signs of leading edge scoring, scratches, gouges, and bending.

According to the FAA Inspectors, the condition of the airplane did not allow for them to confirm the continuity of the flight controls. The airframe and engine revealed no evidence of malfunctions or failures that would have precluded operation.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

SatLoc

The SatLoc M3 CPU was examined by the NTSB Vehicle Recorders Laboratory, Washington, DC. The unit is part of an on-board control system designed to programmatically control spray rates based on vendor and user specified prescription maps. The unit can drive a cockpit mounted light bar guidance system and a real-time graphic moving map display providing visual guidance to the pilot. The data was successfully obtained from the unit's hard drive. Upon arrival at the Vehicle Recorder Laboratory, an exterior examination revealed the unit sustained negligible impact damage. The data was successfully obtained from the unit's hard drive. The first and last recorded points are shown at 9:30:44 EDT and 10:33:18 EDT respectively.

The flight appears to be segmented in three main areas which correlate to the fields being sprayed. The first spray area was west of the airport and the data revealed two full circles over the field, which appear to be scouting passes to look for obstructions. There were no circles flown over the second or third areas. The third area, which is the final field, contains the largest concentration of recorded points. The final 30 seconds of recorded points reveal that the pilot flew north, made a left turn back to the south and appeared to be setting up to spray. The GPS altitude and groundspeed of the last recorded point was about 240 feet above the ground and 162 miles per hour respectively. The unit did not record data points during the final spray path leading up to the accident sequence.

Operator Information

According to the operator, prior to a pilot spraying a field, it is normal to circle the field at least once to look for obstructions. When obstructions are present, it's normal to circle the intended field several times to formulate a plan for safely maneuvering the airplane around the obstructions.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from a power line during an aerial application maneuver. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to identify potential obstructions in the area before beginning low-altitude maneuvers.