Air Tractor AT-401B accident near Pratt, Kansas, July 22, 2002
On July 22, 2002 at about 3:40 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-401B, registered N60747, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pratt, Kansas (Pratt Industrial 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 failure to maintain terrain clearance. A factor was low altitude flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 22, 2002 · about 3:40 pm local time
- Place
- Pratt, Kansas · Pratt Industrial Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-401B
- Registration
- N60747 · no longer on the register · serial 1000
- 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 aerial application flight descended into the corn crops that the pilot was spraying before impacting the ground. The pilot was attempting to roundout and level the airplane at an altitude of 5-10 feet above the corn when he noticed the airplane settling into the corn. He then added power and pitched the nose up slightly, but the descent continued into the corn and terrain. No mechanical anomalies were noted that would have precluded normal operation.
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: airline transport pilot, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 5,400 hours in all; 1,505 in this make and model; 149 in the last 90 days; 89 in the last 30 days; 5,380 as pilot in command; 1,358 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 13, 2002
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,835.6 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 14, 2002; 227.6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PTT Pratt KS at 3:28 pm
- Destination: PTT
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 360° at 11 knots, gusting 15
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 2,200 ft; scat at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from GBD, 35 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 N60747 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.