The pilot told investigators that he was applying insecticide to a soybean field near Melville, Louisiana, when he heard a loud bang.
Shortly after, the Air Tractor AT-502B hit terrain.
The pilot, who momentarily lost consciousness, realized the loud bang was caused when the plane hit a tree in the middle of the field.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and engine mount, while the pilot sustained minor injuries in the crash.
Probable Cause: The pilot improperly monitored the operating environment which resulted in a collision with a tree located in the middle of a field.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This August 2022 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.
The upside is crop dusters are built to withstand a crash. Manufacturers just have to keep that in their designs.
This accident illustrates why aerial application is a very high-risk business. A moment’s distraction, a moment’s inattention, is all it takes to turn a good day into a very bad day.
Ask any seasoned crop duster and they will likely tell you about a close call they’ve had. Or the airframe damage they’ve sustained.
This is not a business for the feint of heart. Mitigation of risks isn’t something that can be helped along by additional legislation. There’s a chance that newer sensor technologies might help in obstacle avoidance, but for the time being, “see and avoid” technology will continue to result in unfortunate accidents like this one.
This reminds me of a cartoon I watched when I was young…George of the Jungle.
incredible luck that the pilot survived….wonder how old he is ??
It’s a miracle that the pilot was able to ever tell the investigators anything!