Texas Agricultural Aviation Association |
www.taaa.org
August 12, 2016
TAAA Newsletter
Via AGPRO:
Texas A&M scientist contributes to new cotton technology
The dream of many Texas cotton farmers plagued by dwindling irrigation water and drought might be to someday produce more fiber using the same amount of water.
That dream is fast becoming reality now thanks to a commercially available seed treatment from Indigo Ag called Indigo™ Cotton. The science behind the treatment stems directly from research started by Dr. Greg Sword, a Texas A&M entomologist.
Want to Find Obstacles Greater Than 200' in a Field Before You Fly? Use FAA's Obstacle Database!
Since April of this year, the FAA has published a database of obstacles of interest to aviation users above 200 feet or deemed an obstacle. This database is updated every eight weeks and can give you information about potential obstacles in your flight path before you even take off.
To access the database, click here and then click the latest "DOF" (Digital Obstacle File) under "List and Subsequent Digital Obstacle File." That will download a folder containing all the obstacle data. That folder contains abbreviations for all 50 states. You can then click on the state(s) and open your state(s) file using Notepad or Wordpad software to see an image similar to the one below.
PLEASE!! MAINTAIN ACCIDENT AWARENESS DON'T BECOME A STATISTIC!!!!
NTSB has reported 29 ag accidents with six fatalities in 2016. Still not on the NTSB's list are the recent California mid-air fatality and two fatalities last week in Nebraska and Iowa. This increases the total fatalities for the year to nine! Every fatal accident in the agricultural aviation industry is tragic. These fatals have resulted in widows and fatherless children. Ag pilots and crew, please, please remember your family and your pilots' family each time the wheels have lifted. Take care of yourself and/or the aircraft you service. Rest, recon, check your work, stay in the zone throughout your mission. You are all loved and depended upon. Nothing is worth taking extra risk. Please make safety your primary goal. Keep the accident total from climbing any higher.
INNOCENT BEFORE GUILTY, EXCEPT AERIAL APPLICATORS; AS SUCH, BEWARE!
The media has been following a news story that broke Tuesday evening at a small city in Iowa. A residential section of the city became covered with sticky droplets from an unknown source. Opinions were that they came from a "crop duster" although drift was discounted by the lack of nearby adjacent fields. As such, "experts," speculate an application mechanical malfunction occurred which caused the aircraft to leak chemical. The fire department recommended cleaning up exposed areas with soap and water. There were no reports of injuries.
Applicators are continuously cautioned to be extremely alert for drift from the target field to adjacent sensitive areas. Observe weather conditions for wind direction and inversion conditions and practice other drift mitigation techniques.
Additionally, FAR §91.313 prohibits a restricted category aircraft from flying over a densely populated area at any altitude without a waiver. If the prevailing assumption in this case is valid, the aircraft should not have been over the city if a system malfunction occurred. It's better to be safe than sorry!
Remember TFR Awareness
Check Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) before flying! FAA recommends you obtain TFR NOTAMs from FSS. Make sure you have proof that you made the effort to comply as verified by briefing records at FSS or by DUATS log in.
