Air Tractor INC AT-402B accident near Wyoming, Illinois, July 15, 2025
On July 15, 2025 at about 12:12 pm local time, a 2012 Air Tractor INC AT-402B, registered N647RA, was substantially damaged in an accident during takeoff near Wyoming, Illinois (Private 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to attain a positive climb rate due to airplane’s improper takeoff configuration.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 15, 2025 · about 12:12 pm local time
- Place
- Wyoming, Illinois · Private · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor INC AT-402B, built 2012 · all AT-402Bs on the register
- Registration
- N647RA · no longer on the register · serial 402B-1248
- 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 of the aerial application flight stated that he landed on a company grass strip and loaded the airplane with liquid fertilizer. He then departed to spray the fertilizer and returned to the airstrip about 30-40 minutes later. He loaded the airplane with the same quantity of fertilizer for a second flight. He said that during the second takeoff, he was turning the airplane and powering up the engine, when he hit the wing flap rocker switch to extend flaps. During the takeoff roll, which was to the east, the sun was in his eyes and when the airplane tail lifted off the ground, he saw that the airplane had veered a little to the left into an area of taller grass. He returned the airplane along the intended takeoff path down the runway, and toward the runway end, he rotated the airplane, but the airplane settled into a soybean field. The airplane impacted the field and sustained substantial damage to the left wing. The pilot was not wearing tinted glasses, and the helmet visor that he was wearing was also not tinted at the time of the accident takeoff. The pilot stated that after the accident he observed that the wing flaps were retracted. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction or failure of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot believed that during the accident takeoff, the airplane settled into the soybean field because the airplane lost takeoff speed when it went into the area of taller grass on the runway.
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
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during takeoff defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Climb rate › Not attained/maintained
- Environmental issues › Operating environment › Airport facilities/design › Runway/landing area length › Not specified
- Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Flight control system › (general) › Not used/operated
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Lack of action › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 6,418 hours in all; 75 in this make and model; 140 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 6,368 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 26, 2025
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,778.2 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 30, 2024
- Maximum gross weight: 9,170 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-34AG (turboprop); 2,778 hours total
- Operator: Diversified Applications Inc.
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 090, 2,600 ft by 90 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Observation at 7:30 am from PIA, 40 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 CEN25LA267.