Air Tractor AT-402A accident near Laurel, Iowa, July 16, 2007
On July 16, 2007, a Air Tractor AT-402A, registered N203DM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Laurel, Iowa. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot failed to maintain clearance with the upsloping terrain for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 16, 2007
- Place
- Laurel, Iowa
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-402A
- Registration
- N203DM · registry record · serial AT-402
- 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 last seen at the airport around 1230. He was scheduled to spray two bean fields and was to return to the same airport. When he had not returned by 1430 a ground and air search was initiated. The airplane was located by air about 3 hours later. There are no known witnesses to the accident. The airplane was found in an open grass area next to a dry riverbed located near one of the fields that was to be sprayed. The surrounding terrain sloped downward to the riverbed, then began to slope upward. The airplane impacted the terrain in a slight right-wing-low, nose-down attitude at a point where the terrain begins to slope upward. The airplane then cartwheeled prior to coming to rest. Examination of the wreckage failed to reveal any mechanical failure/malfunction which would have resulted in the accident.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 18,030 hours in all
- Last flight review: April 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,745 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 2007; 226 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MIW Marshalltown IA at 5:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 12 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 4,200 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 5:53 pm from MIW, 17 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.
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.