Ayres S2R-T34 accident near Stanfield, Arizona, April 6, 1995
On April 6, 1995, a Ayres S2R-T34, registered N3105B, was destroyed in an accident near Stanfield, Arizona. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout for, and clearance from, obstacles while conducting simulated aerial application operations.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 6, 1995
- Place
- Stanfield, Arizona
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Ayres S2R-T34
- Registration
- N3105B · no longer on the register · serial T34-136DC
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE SURVIVING PASSENGER SAID HE HAD NO MEMORY OF THE ACCIDENT FLIGHT AND WAS IN THE REAR SEAT TO OBSERVE THE USE OF A GPS-BASED GUIDANCE SYSTEM WHICH HIS COMPANY HAD PURCHASED. THE OPERATOR IS A DISTRIBUTOR FOR THE GUIDANCE SYSTEM AND WAS CONDUCTING CLASSES FOR PURCHASERS OF THE SYSTEM. THE AIRCRAFT HAD NO CHEMICALS ON BOARD. A WITNESS WAS 1 MILE FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE AND SAW THE AIRCRAFT IN A TURN NEAR THE EDGE OF A FARM FIELD, THEN SAW THE BLACK SMOKE RISING FROM THE SITE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS EXAMINED BY AN FAA AIRWORTHINESS INSPECTOR WHO SAW WIRE CONTACT SIGNATURES ON THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR AND SPREADER BOOMS. THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO BE TURNING FROM A SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST DIRECTION IN A 40-DEGREE BANKED TURN WHEN IT STRUCK FOUR 1-INCH DIAMETER ALUMINUM POWER LINES AT A FARM FIELD'S WESTERN BOUNDARY. THREE OF THE LINES WERE SEVERED. THREE SEPARATE SECTIONS OF THE WIRE HAD ENDS WITH A CUT APPEARANCE, WITH NO EVIDENCE OF DUCTILE DEFORMATION OR NECKING. THE PROPELLER DISPLAYED LEADING EDGE DAMAGE, CHORDWISE SCORING, TORSIONAL TWIST SIGNATURES, AND TIP BENDING OPPOSITE THE CAMBERED SIDE. NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL DISCREPANCIES WERE FOUND.
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; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 17,000 hours in all; 2,100 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 16,790 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,535 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 28, 1994; 867 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Walton Enterprises Of Arizona
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.