When the job is applying ag chemicals at 150 miles an hour and an altitude of five feet, things can go wrong very quickly. And when that happens, first responders need to know what they're facing, and they need to know fast.
That's why members of the Sterling Fire Department and Logan County Sheriff's Office gathered in the main hangar at Aerial Applicators west of Sterling last week for a refresher course on responding to spray plane mishaps.
According to a 2014 report from the National Transportation Safety Board, there are between 75 and 80 accidents involving aerial applicators each year, and about 10 of those involve fatalities. Engine or other component failure is the leading cause of these accidents, but the NTSB report said about 35 percent of accidents are caused by aircraft hitting power lines.