Air Tractor INC AT-602 accident near Murray, Nebraska, August 25, 2022
On August 25, 2022 at about 3:30 pm local time, a 2011 Air Tractor INC AT-602, registered N5951B, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Murray, Nebraska (Nolte Farms Airport). 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
The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control during landing resulting in an impact with crop and a subsequent ground-loop. Contributing was the wet turf airstrip.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 2022 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Murray, Nebraska · Nolte Farms Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor INC AT-602, built 2011 · all AT-602s on the register
- Registration
- N5951B · no longer on the register · serial 602-1209
- 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 reported that there had been light rain in the morning prior to the flight and when he took off from the turf airstrip to conduct an aerial application flight, the turf was wet from the rain. Following applying fertilizer to a nearby cornfield, the pilot returned to the airstrip to land. After the main landing gear and tailwheel touched down and as the pilot applied brakes to steer, the airplane skidded, and the right wing struck cornstalks in the adjacent field. The airplane then ground-looped and rolled over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing and aileron. The pilot reported that there were no other preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation, and that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the brake system.
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
- Loss of control on ground during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Not attained/maintained
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Wet surface › Contributed to outcome
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › (general) › Contributed to outcome
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,607 hours in all; 1,450 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: May 18, 2022
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,563 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 2, 2022; 349 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-60AG (turboprop); 3,563 hours total
- Operator: Murdoch Aerial Spraying LLC
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 2,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 71°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 10:30 am from PMV, 4 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on October 13, 2022. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NTSB Form 6120 Pilot Operator Report CEN22LA408 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photo Array CEN22LA408 | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.