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CEN24LA175

2024-05-01 · England, Arkansas, United States · Serious · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from tower guy wires while maneuvering during a low-level aerial application flight.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that, while performing aerial application work at a low altitude, he became distracted by looking at a map and not focused on a nearby tower with guy wires. When the pilot looked up, he realized he did not veer far and high enough away from the tower guy wires. The airplane struck the guy wires and impacted the terrain. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that the accident might have been prevented if he had completed a better pre-application briefing. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

  • — Personnel issues-Psychological-Attention/monitoring-Monitoring environment-Pilot
  • — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained
  • — Environmental issues-Physical environment-Object/animal/substance-Tower/antenna (incl guy wires)-Ability to respond/compensate

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2024_CEN24LA175.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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