Air Tractor Inc AT-402B N291DL accident near Clara City, Minnesota

Probable cause

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

NTSB analysis

Airplane position data revealed that the pilot was performing agricultural application passes to a corn field at the time of the accident. During an approach to the northwest, in a pattern consistent with a clean-up pass, the empennage impacted the lowest transmission line on a set of power lines along the perimeter of the field. The collision separated the rudder and upper portion of the vertical stabilizer from the empennage, and the airplane subsequently impacted the corn field about 350 ft from the power lines.

Postrecovery airframe and engine examinations did not reveal any anomalies consistent with a preimpact failure or malfunction, or of the engine to produce rated power.

It is likely that the pilot was flying under the transmission lines at the end of the clean-up pass and did not maintain clearance which resulted in an impact between the empennage and the transmission line.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN23LA324 for the full record.