Air Tractor AT-301A accident near Labelle, Florida, June 20, 1997
On June 20, 1997 at about 7:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-301A, registered N23728, was substantially damaged in an accident near Labelle, Florida. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed during a turn-around maneuver, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/mush and collision with the terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 20, 1997 · about 7:30 pm local time
- Place
- Labelle, Florida
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-301A
- Registration
- N23728 · no longer on the register · serial 301-0424
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After reloading to apply fertilizer to a sugar cane field, the pilot took off and made a swath run. During a turn-around maneuver for the second swath, at about 200 yards away from the field and 50 feet above the ground, the airplane began sinking rapidly. The pilot added full power, and the airplane mushed into the ground. The airplane hit a levee, nosed over, and came to rest about 100 feet into the sugar cane field.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine
- Flight time: 13,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 13,000 as pilot in command; 283 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,684 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 31, 1997; 80 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 5,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE FL at 7:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 045° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:00 pm from RSW, 20 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.