Federal investigators release report on fatal cropduster crash

The federal Transportation Safety Board (TSB) released a report Thursday on a fatal plane crash that happened over the summer near Arborfield, Sask.

The single-engine Cessna A188B AGtruck cropduster operated by Clayton Air Service went down on July 12 after applying fungicide to a field east of Carrot River. The pilot and lone occupant of the plane died in the crash.

In its report, the TSB indicated weather did not appear to have factored into the crash and that the pilot was adequately qualified to fly the plane, which was operating within weight and balance requirements.

A map showing the location where a single-engine plane crashed on July 12, 2018. (Transportation Safety Board)

An inspection of the airframe and cockpit was inconclusive due to the near-total destruction of the plane caused by the impact with the ground and ensuing fire. However, damage to the trees around the crash site indicated the plane’s propeller was still spinning when it went down.

Investigators found the plane left no wreckage trail as it crashed into the ground at a shallow pitch angle with a low rate of forward speed. This led them to conclude the plane was the victim of an “aerodynamic stall,” caused when an aircraft’s wing reaches an angle where it no longer generates lift.

The plane was not required to have a flight data recorder, nor was it required to have a cockpit voice recorder. This, coupled with a lack of witnesses, left investigators unable to determine the sequence of events leading to the stall.

The pilot’s name was never released in the aftermath of the crash.