Investigation continues into crop duster crash in Butler County

Ryan McCallister's crop duster comes in for a landing in this March photo. DAR File Photo/Joe McGraw

The Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board are in the midst of investigating Ryan McCallister’s fatal crop duster crash Friday morning.

Butler County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Wes Popp said investigators from the two agencies traveled from Chicago to document the crash site Saturday morning.

Keith Holloway of the NTSB stated the wreckage has been transported to a secure facility for further investigation. A preliminary report will be available in 30 days.

“NTSB investigations involve three primary areas: the pilot, the aircraft, and the operating environment,” Holloway said.

The analysis will include recordings of air traffic communications, radar data, weather reports, witness statements, aircraft maintenance records, and the pilot’s experience.

The NTSB will also look into the 72 hours leading up to the incident, “to determine if there were any issues that could have affected the pilot’s ability to safely operate the flight.”

Brittany Trotter of the FAA updated the time of the crash to 8:30 a.m. The FAA filed an Accident and Incident Notification Monday morning listing the registration number of McCallister’s Air Tractor AT-602 and a brief narrative of the accident.

The FAA noted in the report, “(The) aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances into (a) tree line.”

Holloway cautioned, “It is important to note that NTSB does not determine cause during the on-scene phase of the investigative process or speculate about the cause of the accident. This is considered the fact-gathering phase of the investigation.”

Following the NTSB’s preliminary report, the board will release a full report on the accident in 12-24 months. The preliminary release will be posted to ntsb.gov and on the organization’s Twitter page.