Air Tractor Inc AT-401 accident near Hamlet, Nebraska, June 2, 2025
On June 2, 2025 at about 3:00 pm local time, a 1994 Air Tractor Inc AT-401, registered N60057, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering (low-alt flying) near Hamlet, Nebraska. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from the power lines during low altitude maneuvering.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 2, 2025 · about 3:00 pm local time
- Place
- Hamlet, Nebraska · 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-401, built 1994 · all AT-401s on the register
- Registration
- N60057 · registry record · serial 401-0951
- 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 was flying the agricultural airplane at a low altitude during an aerial application flight when the airplane’s vertical stabilizer and rudder struck power lines. The airplane’s vertical stabilizer, rudder, and elevator were substantially damaged during the collision with the power lines. The pilot made an immediate landing in a nearby field due to the damaged flight controls and the airplane ground looped during the landing rollout. The pilot reported that before the airplane collided with the power lines there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.
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 › Not attained/maintained
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,054.7 hours in all; 18 in this make and model; 90 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 1,054.7 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: April 20, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,127.9 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 1, 2025; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,170 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-11AG (turboprop); 2,128 hours total
- Operator: Sunflower Aero Inc
The flight
- Departed from: ADT Atwood KS at 1:30 pm
- Destination: ADT Atwood KS
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 190° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.82 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from KIML, 21 miles away
Weather report (METAR): METAR KIML 021453Z AUTO 19006KT 10SM CLR 24/17 A2982 RMK AO2 SLP065 T02390167 58002=
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 January 9, 2026. 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, 8 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Photos | PDF, 5 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N60057 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 CEN25LA191.