N501MWAir Tractor AT-502A · 2020

On July 30, 2022, about 1300 central daylight time, an Air Tractor AT-502A airplane, N501MW, was destroyed when was involved in an accident near Ute, Iowa. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 137 as an aerial application flight.

The airplane was applying chemicals to a field. The airplane struck a wire on the western edge of the field and subsequently impacted terrain. A postcrash fire ensued. There are no known witnesses to the accident. No ADS-B data was located for the accident flight.

The airplane wreckage came to rest on a paved road, upright, facing a magnetic heading of 130°. The field that the pilot was spraying was to the east of the accident site and was bordered on three sides by power lines. Damaged power lines were located on the western edge of the field. Portions of the left wing were scattered around the powerlines and to the north of the wreckage. The airplane engine was driven near vertical into the edge of a paved road about 7 yards west of the damaged powerlines. A post-impact fire consumed a majority of the left wing, fuselage, and empennage.

Figure 1 Accident Site (Photo from Monona County Sheriff's Office)

Examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact anomalies which would have precluded normal operation.

Toxicology was conducted on samples from the pilot. Testing was negative for carbon monoxide and ethanol. Loratadine and desloratadine were detected which are a nonprescription sedating antihistamine used to treat allergies.