Ayres S2R-T660 accident near Blytheville, Arkansas, August 19, 2003
On August 19, 2003 at about 8:30 pm local time, a Ayres S2R-T660, registered N4114A, was destroyed in an accident near Blytheville, Arkansas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout and altitude/clearance not being maintained from the transmission wires. A factor to the accident was the transmission wires.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 19, 2003 · about 8:30 pm local time
- Place
- Blytheville, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Ayres S2R-T660
- Registration
- N4114A · no longer on the register · serial T660-102
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aerial application airplane impacted transmission wires while performing a spray run. The pilot stated he had flown over the transmission wires on three separate spray runs and was familiar with their location. The pilot reported that he initiated a spray run to the west and "looked down to check pressure gauge on spray boom [and] when I looked up [the] wires were in my face." The pilot stated he should have kept his "attention/concentration on flying the aircraft and not the spray system."
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 25,700 hours in all; 1,250 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: March 3, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 13,248 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HKA Blytheville AR at 6:10 pm
- Destination: HKA AR
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 79°F (26°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from HKA
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.