Air Tractor AT-502, N1021D: Accident occurred August 14, 2012 in Hanley Falls, Minnesota

http://registry.faa.gov/N1021D

NTSB Identification: CEN12CA546 
14 CFR Part 137: Agricultural
Accident occurred Tuesday, August 14, 2012 in Hanley Falls, MN
Probable Cause Approval Date: 10/09/2012
Aircraft: AIR TRACTOR INC AT-502, registration: N1021D
Injuries: 1 Minor.

NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.

The pilot was conducting an agricultural application pass at the time of the accident. He was flying near a set of power line support poles on the edge of the field in order to establish a global positioning system reference line for subsequent application passes. He was looking to the left to maintain clearance with the support poles when he observed guy wires in his flight path. He immediately pulled up and rolled to the right; however, the left wing struck a guy wire. The airplane impacted the ground inverted, sustaining substantial damage to the fuselage, empennage, and both wings. The pilot stated that there were no failures or malfunctions associated with the airplane before the accident. He noted that making the guy wires more visible and greater awareness on his part might have prevented the accident.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a guy wire during an agricultural application pass.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A pilot was reportedly able to walk away from a plane crash Tuesday in Yellow Medicine County after the plane struck a power line and landed in a cornfield, authorities said. 

The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office said the crash was reported shortly after 4 p.m. The caller said a plane was crop dusting west of Hanley Falls, Minn., when it went down.

The pilot, 47-year-old Bryce Orwick, of Clara City, was reported by another caller to be walking on a road after the crash, the sheriff’s office said. Orwick was later taken to the Granite Falls Hospital for treatment.

Authorities said the plane appears to have hit a high voltage power line and knocked it down.

The crash will be investigated by the FAA and the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office.