Air Tractor AT-401 accident near Ellinwood, Kansas, July 2, 2001
On July 2, 2001 at about 2:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-401, registered N4549E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ellinwood, Kansas. 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 failed to see and avoid the guy wire during an aerial application flight. A factor associated with the accident was the guy wire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 2, 2001 · about 2:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ellinwood, Kansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-401
- Registration
- N4549E · registry record · serial 401-0765
- 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 airplane contacted a guy wire and collided with the terrain during an aerial application flight. The pilot reported he saw the poles during the aerial application flight. He reported he knew that there would be wires in the area so he swung out wide during a turn to look for the wires. The right wing contacted a guy wire during the turn. The airplane then settled into the sunflower crop.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,553 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 2,454 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: March 27, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,138 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 15, 2001; 150 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340-AN-1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1K6 Ellinwood KS at 2:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 11 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 pm from GBD, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N4549E the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.