Probable cause
The inadequate in-flight planning/decision making and the altitude/clearance not maintained by the pilot during the aerial application. A contributing factor was the guy wire.
NTSB analysis
The pilot was spraying an agricultural field in an east/west direction, but later changed to a north/south direction so as to avoid an agricultural airplane spraying an adjacent field. During the 15th pass over the field, the airplane struck a guy wire with its right wing tip that resulted in structural damage to its right wing. The pilot then flew back and landed the airplane without further incident at the airport where it was based. The pilot was uninjured. The pilot stated that he should have resurveyed the field after changing the direction of the passes over the field.
Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CHI08CA212 for the full record.
Event
- Date
- Jul 24, 2008
- Type
- Accident
- Place
- Clinton, Illinois
- Highest injury
- None
- Weather
- Visual (VMC)
- Light
- Day
Ayres Corporation S2R-T34
- N-number
- N357CA
- Category
- Airplane
- Damage
- Substantial
- Operating rule
- Part 137 (agricultural)
- Purpose of flight
- Aerial application
Other records under this N-number
From the NTSB aviation accident database: N-registered aircraft, events since 2008, data through Oct 28, 2026. The file is published monthly, so the latest weeks are incomplete and recent records can change. The official source is the NTSB aviation investigation search. CheckAero is independent and not affiliated with the NTSB.