Air Tractor INC AT-602 accident near Goudeau, Louisiana, May 23, 2025
On May 23, 2025 at about 7:35 pm local time, a 2013 Air Tractor INC AT-602, registered N216TA, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Goudeau, Louisiana (Private 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 inadvertent encounter with soft terrain conditions during the landing which resulted in a loss of directional and a subsequent nose-over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 23, 2025 · about 7:35 pm local time · cases in 2025
- Place
- Goudeau, Louisiana · Private · 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 2013 · all AT-602s on the register
- Registration
- N216TA · registry record · serial 602-1227
- 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 stated that during the landing on a dry grass airstrip, the airplane encountered a soft terrain area on the runway. The airplane was then pulled into a softer area toward the edge of the runway where it nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing leading edge and ribs and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or the engine that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot further reported that the accident could have been prevented by refraining from operating on airstrips with soft runways.
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
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll)
- Abnormal runway contact during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Directional control › Attain/maintain not possible
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Soft surface › Ability to respond/compensate
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 38,430 hours in all; 7,100 in this make and model; 422 in the last 90 days; 155 in the last 30 days; 38,085 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: January 25, 2025
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,207.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65AG (turboprop); 7,203 hours total
- Operator: Tailwinds Air INC
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 360, 2,400 ft by 149 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,100 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from AEX, 50 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 1 picture from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
2 documents, released by the NTSB on October 2, 2025. 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 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 10 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 2 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N216TA on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Air Tractor Inc AT-602 245 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65AG 2,218 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Accidents and incidents in Louisiana 1,274 since 1982 · 189 in the last ten years
- Louisiana 3,729 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN25LA187.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.