On March 15, 2021, an Air Tractor AT-602, N119KP, sustained substantial damage and another Air Tractor AT-602, N312FB, sustained minor damage when they were involved in a midair collision near Dumas, Arkansas.
Neither pilot was injured in the crash.
According to the pilot of N119KP, when he had the airstrip in sight, he began to descend. When the airplane descended through an altitude of about 300 to 400 feet above ground level, he looked briefly at his map, then looked out toward the airstrip when he felt something hit the left wingtip of his airplane. He landed without further incident.
A post-accident photograph showed substantial damage to the left wing.
According to the pilot of N312FB, he flew to a field to be sprayed and circled over it to check for obstacles before the application. The airplane was about 400 feet above ground level in a 40° to 45° left bank when he felt the other airplane hit his airplane.
The pilot stated the other airplane came from the “5 o’clock position” and that its left wingtip struck his airplane’s right-side step and spray boom.
He landed without incident. The airplane sustained minor damage to the fuselage and spray boom.
Neither pilot reported any mechanical malfunctions that could have contributed to the accident. Both pilots worked for different operators, and neither pilot was in radio contact, nor were they required to be in radio contact, with the other pilot.
Neither airplane was equipped, and neither was required to be equipped, with an automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast unit for Part 137 operations.
Probable Cause: The failure of both pilots to see and avoid the other airplane.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This March 2021 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Within a 15 nm radius of my home, there are three large GA airports with 6 (total) very busy flight schools, plus a huge joint USAF/USA base, a major international airport, and a number of smaller private/restricted airstrips.
If weather allows, the schools and Army (think many helicopters) will absolutely flood the same relatively small, informal ‘training area’, which is capped by a Class B shelf.
There’s no airspace scheduling, deconfliction, or coordination plan. There’s no airspace user ‘notification’ tool (NOTAM); and no “standardized” airspace comm plan (122.75?).
See & Avoid is critical and ADS-B is a great tool, but it’s a matter of “when” not “if”.
At 300 – 400agl, preparing to land, why would you need to look at a map at that crucial time?
Two companies in same gèogtaphic location. Seems it must be a company secret they were doing. A phone call to in for at least the general area where they’d be that day might have been enough to have alerted the two pilot’s to listen on a particular frequency.
It would seem that one would be on the frequency of an airport they are within 1.5 miles of, especially if they are operating off the end of a runway. It would also seem to be a good thing to have a NOTAM for that airport that spraying ops are going on off the end of RWY XX.
Just say’n’.
May I suggest… The military learned these lessons over the years. AVOID CONFLICT by prior planning and communications. This too-close-a-shave should be a wake-up bugle-call!
IF these Acft/Pilots work for the same company, then there should have been ground briefings and air-to-air comm/coordination… as well as ‘lost wingman’ procedures to either separate or find each other in the ‘heat of battle’.
IF these Acft/pilots work for different companies, then there needs to be fundamental safety coordination between AG operators. I’m here where are You? IF adjacent, the how do we deconflict? In this case ‘some disclosure’ of operations is the better part of fatal valor.
Also… AG Acft need extra anti-collision lighting for multi-lights in the spherical view-space around each Acft.
I’d hope there is an AG operations bulletin board [I’m operating ‘here/dates’] for US-wide operations… but probably NOT.
Just thinking’…
“See and be seen.” That was a warning from the Grim Reaper, who missed his quota that day.
Regards/J