Air Tractor AT 602

Full Narrative

On April 28, 2019, about 1258 central daylight time, an Air Tractor Inc. AT-602 airplane, N602AM, impacted a powerline and subsequently impacted terrain near Quanah, Texas. The commercial pilot reported no injuries. The airplane sustained substantial fuselage damage during the impact with terrain. The airplane was registered to and operated by Buffalo Ridge Airspray LLC as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 aerial application flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed in the area about the time of the accident, and the flight was not operated on a flight plan. The local flight originated from the Quanah Municipal Airport, near Quanah, Texas, about 1200.
The pilot reported that the airplane was loaded up to spray 200 acres north west of Quanah, Texas, where the wind was from the east northeast about 7 to 9 mph. However, local wind at a nearby airport was 130° at 5 kts. The aerial application passes were conducted east to west, paralleling a transmission powerline. The flight was uneventful for the entire load. Before departing the field location, the pilot performed two "clean up" passes along the west boundary of the field flying from the south to the north. The first north bound heading trim pass was successful. The pilot flew the airplane to the south end of the field to initiate the second and final trim pass. As the pilot flew out of the field over the powerline, he thought the airplane had cleared the powerline. He subsequently thought the propeller blades struck the wire that he did not see and the engine lost power. The pilot conducted the "proper emergency steps such as fuel, feather the prop, and trim the aircraft." He then performed a controlled "crash landing," next to the wheat field he was trying to land in, about 1.5 miles away from the powerline strike. The pilot further reported that "there was no malfunction prior to hitting the powerline."
The pilot's safety recommendation stated, "Avoid the powerline entirely by leaving off the "clean up" passes along the west boundary of my field. I could have waited for a south wind to help get my spray under the wire and around the northwest corner of the application area, instead of making the extra "clean up" passes towards the wire."