Air Tractor AT-400 accident near Springfield, Minnesota, July 31, 2006
On July 31, 2006 at about 6:45 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-400, registered N23720, was substantially damaged in an accident near Springfield, Minnesota. 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 inability to maintain directional control of the airplane as a result of the partial failure of the tail wheel assembly. A factor associated with the accident was the crop that the airplane contacted.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 2006 · about 6:45 pm local time
- Place
- Springfield, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-400
- Registration
- N23720 · no longer on the register · serial 400-0422
- 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 ground looped following a failure of one of the tail wheel bolts. The pilot reported that he was landing at a private grass airstrip when the accident occurred. He reported that upon landing the tail wheel broke and the airplane ground looped. Inspection of the airplane revealed that it traveled into a bean field during the ground loop and that the bottom bolt on the tail wheel assembly fractured which resulted in a loss of directional control.
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
- Flight time: 1,750 hours in all; 1,750 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 27D Canby MN at 5:30 pm
- Destination: PVT Springfield MN
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 12 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N23720 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.