Air Tractor AT-502B accident near Edna, Texas, May 19, 2003
On May 19, 2003 at about 6:12 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B, registered N9086M, was destroyed in an accident near Edna, Texas. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance with the transmission wires while maneuvering during an aerial application flight. A contributing factor was the haze restricting the visibility.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 19, 2003 · about 6:12 pm local time
- Place
- Edna, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Registration
- N9086M · registry record · serial 502B-0596
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot had been applying urea on an 85-acre rice field when the aircraft collided with the lower set of high voltage transmission wires. The power lines were 50 feet above ground level. The aircraft was traveling at 100 knots on a heading of 360 degrees, and the transmission wires followed an east to west heading. The pilot had flown under the power lines on previous occasions, but the pilot did not see the power lines on this flight. Haze prevailed throughout the area from forest fires, in Central America.
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
What happened, in order
- IN FLIGHT COLLISION WITH OBJECT during maneuvering - aerial application
- LOSS OF CONTROL - IN FLIGHT during descent - uncontrolled
- IN FLIGHT COLLISION WITH TERRAIN/WATER during descent - uncontrolled
Pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land, none, APLN
- Flight time: 5,197 hours in all; 2,770 in this make and model; 220 in the last 90 days; 102 in the last 30 days; 5,021 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: August 21, 2002
- Medical certificate: class 2
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,415 hours
- Last inspection: type not recorded, December 28, 2002; 332 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operating certificate: in the vicinity
The flight
- Departed from: 6TE5 Edna TX at 6:10 pm
- Destination: 6TE5 Edna TX
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 91°C, dew point 73°C
- Altimeter: 29.860001 inHg
- Observation at 5:51 pm from VCT, 6 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number FTW03LA158.