Air Tractor AT502B accident near Bainbridge, Georgia, October 12, 1998
On October 12, 1998 at about 11:10 am local time, a Air Tractor AT502B, registered N6037N, was destroyed in an accident near Bainbridge, Georgia (Bainbridge airport). It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate visual lookout which resulted in a collision with an irrigation unit located in the field.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 12, 1998 · about 11:10 am local time
- Place
- Bainbridge, Georgia · Bainbridge
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT502B
- Registration
- N6037N · registry record · serial 502B-0264
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that he was starting his day spraying the same field he had sprayed the afternoon before, and did not expect to find the irrigation system parked in line with the power lines that separated the field. The system is always parked out into the field toward the south, so that the pilot could work under the power lines. A witness that was approximately 100 yards from the collision, was watching the Ag airplane, stated that the irrigation system was used that night and was moved to the north side of the field and oriented east-west. It was parked along and parallel to the power lines. The airplane exited the north side of the field and turned 180 degrees to start spray pattern from the north. The pilot was spraying at 10 feet off the operation when the airplane collided with a standing irrigation system located on the same field, and subsequently hit the ground and burst into flames. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,000 hours in all; 3,500 in this make and model; 15,000 as pilot in command; 200 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 16,855 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection; 95 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6-34 A6 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 50°F (10°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:10 am from TLH, 15 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.