Ayres S2R-T34 accident near Huron, California, August 14, 1988
On August 14, 1988 at about 10:00 am local time, a Ayres S2R-T34, registered N40071, was substantially damaged in an accident near Huron, California. 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 14, 1988 · about 10:00 am local time
- Place
- Huron, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Ayres S2R-T34
- Registration
- N40071 · registry record · serial 6011
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DURING AN AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT AT NIGHT, THE AIRPLANE'S VERTICAL STABILIZER COLLIDED WITH A TRANSMISSION WIRE. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE VERTICAL STABILIZER & RUDDER WERE DISLOCATED & DIRECTIONAL CONTROL WAS LOST. REALIZING HE HAD LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL, THE PILOT ALLOWED THE ACFT TO IMMEDIATELY TOUCHDOWN & LAND. WHILE ON THE LANDING ROLL, THE ACFT HIT A 'WATER LINE.'
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; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 8,700 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 103 in the last 90 days; 64 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,450 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 1988; 300 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,100 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.