Air Tractor AT 401 accident near Burlington, Colorado, July 27, 2020
On July 27, 2020 at about 5:08 pm local time, a 1989 Air Tractor AT 401, registered N9190Q, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering (low-alt flying) near Burlington, Colorado (Burlington airport). It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from guy-wires during low-altitude agricultural operations.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 27, 2020 · about 5:08 pm local time
- Place
- Burlington, Colorado · Burlington · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT 401 Undesignat, built 1989
- Registration
- N9190Q · registry record · serial 401-0925
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot flew the agricultural airplane to the designated spray area. He made 3-4 passes on a corn field and surveyed the area for guy-wires (a tower was adjacent to the field). He flew multiple passes around the tower to look for guy-wires but he was not able to get an exact location on the tower’s guy-wires and started spraying the field from south to north, and then west to east. After spraying about 4 passes in the middle of the field and 3 passes on the west end of the field the airplane struck a guy-wire with the right wing. After the airplane hit the wire, the pilot had trouble maintaining altitude. The airplane collided through a single set of power lines and struck the ground, resulting in substantial damage to the wings, fuselage, and empennage.
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
What happened, in order
- Low altitude operation/event during maneuvering (low-alt flying) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Psychological › Attention/monitoring › Monitoring environment › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Altitude › Attain/maintain not possible
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Wire › Awareness of condition
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,880 hours in all; 636 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: March 7, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,014 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 10, 2020
- Maximum gross weight: 6,250 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W 1340 (piston); 4,014 hours total
- Operator: Air Care Inc
The flight
- Departed from: ITR Burlington CO at 4:45 pm
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 070° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,900 ft; scat at 1,400 ft
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 28.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 am from ITR, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
Other NTSB records under N9190Q the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN20CA311.