Thrush Aircraft Llc S2R-T660 N710TY accident near Ardoch, North Dakota

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from a guy wire during an aerial application flight.

NTSB analysis

The pilot was conducting an aerial application flight when the airplane’s left wing impacted a guy wire attached to a power line structure. The impact with the guy wire occurred while the airplane was flying along the edge of the field being sprayed. The outboard 7 ft of the left wing and the left aileron separated during the impact with the guy wire. The airplane subsequently crashed in a cornfield about 0.3 mile from the guy wire impact.

Examination of the airplane wreckage revealed no evidence of a preimpact malfunction that would have prevented its normal operation. A review of recorded engine monitor data revealed no evidence of an engine malfunction or failure during the flight. Day visual meteorological conditions existed, and the position of the sun at high noon would not have negatively affected the pilot’s view ahead of the airplane. The pilot’s autopsy and postmortem toxicology tests did not reveal any evidence of medical incapacitation or impairment.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN23FA409 for the full record.