Rockwell S-2R accident near Garden City, Kansas, August 11, 1999
On August 11, 1999 at about 2:50 pm local time, a Rockwell S-2R, registered N4923X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Garden City, Kansas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's misjudging his pull-up maneuver resulting in contact with the wire. A contributing factor was the wire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 11, 1999 · about 2:50 pm local time
- Place
- Garden City, Kansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Rockwell S-2R
- Registration
- N4923X · no longer on the register · serial 2119R
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- 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 had completed its swath run. The airplane struck power lines located at the edge of the field being sprayed during a pull-up maneuver. The pilot said, '...I misjudged my initial point of pull up and contacted the top wire between two poles with the [airplanes] right [main] landing gear.' The pilot said the wires were hard to see. The on-scene investigation revealed the wires were suspended between 2 poles about 1/4 mile apart.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,621 hours in all; 1,032 in this make and model; 236 in the last 90 days; 127 in the last 30 days; 1,594 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,573 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1999; 140 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: GCK at 2:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:34 pm from GCK, 8 miles away
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.
Other NTSB records under N4923X the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.