ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 188823
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| Date: | Saturday 23 July 2016 |
| Time: | 07:45 |
| Type: |  Air Tractor AT-502B |
| Owner/operator: | Farm Air Flying Services |
| Registration: | N502WC |
| MSN: | 502B-2830 |
| Year of manufacture: | 2012 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 967 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | 3 miles east of Zamora, Yolo County, NW of Woodland, CA -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Agricultural |
| Departure airport: | Verona, CA (38CL) |
| Verona, CA (38CL) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Both agricultural application airplanes were returning to their respective home bases after completing application operations when they collided in-flight at an altitude less than 500 ft agl. Following the collision, one of the airplanes (N502WC) descended to ground contact, fatally injuring the pilot. The pilot of the second airplane (N5044N) performed a forced landing to a field. That pilot reported that he did not see the other airplane until immediately before the collision.
Examination of the engine and flight control systems of both airplanes revealed no mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation including the ability to maneuver the airplanes away from each other.
The deceased pilot had at least therapeutic levels of two impairing medications, cyclobenzaprine and hydrocodone, at the time of the accident. In addition, he had low levels of two sedating antihistamines, chlorpheniramine and diphenhydramine. These four drugs, in combination, would likely have slowed his psychomotor functioning and decreased his attentiveness to the flight environment. Therefore, it is likely that the fatally injured pilot's use of a combination cyclobenzaprine, hydrocodone, and two sedating antihistamines, contributed to his inability to successfully see and avoid the other airplane.
Based upon the sun's position and the statement from the second pilot, the sun was likely in the eyes of the deceased pilot. There was no evidence of the deceased pilot performing any evasive maneuver prior to the collision, which suggests that he never visually acquired the other airplane prior to the collision.
Probable Cause: The failure of both pilots to maintain an adequate visual lookout, which resulted in a midair collision. Also causal was the pilot's use of two sedating antihistamines and two impairing medication and the effect of sun glare on his visual lookout, which likely led to his inability to successfully see and avoid the other airplane.
Accident investigation:
 |
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Sources:
NTSB
FAA register: http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=502WC
Location
Images:
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 23-Jul-2016 19:10 | Geno | Added |
| 24-Jul-2016 11:34 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Aircraft type, Location, Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
| 25-Jul-2016 18:45 | Geno | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Source, Damage, Narrative] |
| 01-Jun-2018 09:56 | ASN Update Bot | Updated [Operator, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
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