Rockwell S-2R accident near Moscow, Arkansas, August 6, 1989
On August 6, 1989 at about 4:15 pm local time, a Rockwell S-2R, registered N4943X, was destroyed in an accident near Moscow, Arkansas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
INADEQUATE VISUAL LOOKOUT BY THE PILOT. THE GUY WIRE WAS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 1989 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Moscow, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Rockwell S-2R
- Registration
- N4943X · no longer on the register · serial 5004R
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT STATED THAT AS HE WAS MAKING PASSES FOR AERIAL APPLICATION, THE ACFT HIT AN UNOBSERVED GUY WIRE WHICH EXTENDED FROM A POWER LINE POLE. THE ACFT THEN SPUN AROUND & CRASHED IN A SOYBEAN FIELD. AFTER THE PLT CRAWLED FROM THE ACFT, IT BURNED & WAS DESTROYED.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 32,810 hours in all; 10,000 in this make and model; 275 in the last 90 days; 92 in the last 30 days; 32,674 as pilot in command; 1,121 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,663 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 25, 1989; 318 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340-AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Dirty Bird INC.
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 4,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:52 pm from PBF, 10 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 N4943X 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.