Air Tractor AT-401 accident near Steele, Missouri, March 23, 1998
On March 23, 1998 at about 5:45 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-401, registered N1524H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Steele, Missouri (Steele Municipal 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 failed to maintain an adequate visual lookout. A factor was the pile of gravel in the taxiway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 23, 1998 · about 5:45 pm local time
- Place
- Steele, Missouri · Steele Municipal · 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
- N1524H · no longer on the register · serial 401-0844
- 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 reported that it was his first flight to the airport for the year. He reported the airport was used primarily by aerial applicator pilots. He reported the customary practice at the airport during the spraying season was for the airplanes to land on the taxiway and takeoff on the runway. He made a straight-in approach to the runway from the south. He landed on the taxiway and during the landing roll-out, the airplane hit a pile of gravel that had been dumped in the center of the taxiway, midway from the approach and departure ends of the taxiway. He reported that if he had made a standard downwind entry into the traffic pattern, he would have most probably seen the piles of gravel on the taxiway. The airport manager reported the gravel had been dumped on the taxiway for airport reconstruction that was in progress. The manager reported that there had not been much traffic at the airport recently. He reported that a NOTAM had not been issued for the closed taxiway.
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: 6,500 hours in all; 3,000 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,500 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Maximum gross weight: 7,860 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Caruthersville MO
- Destination: M12
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 7,500 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:55 pm from POF, 55 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 N1524H 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.