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).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
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 October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 23, 2025 · about 7:35 pm local time
- 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 |
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 | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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 CEN25LA187.