Air Tractor AT-301 accident near Mentha, Michigan, July 31, 1998
On July 31, 1998 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-301, registered N3659T, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mentha, Michigan. 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 improper inflight decision to land the airplane on the gravel covered road with an uneven surface that had corn growing next to its edge. A factor in this accident was the pilot selecting an unsuitable landing area.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 1998 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mentha, Michigan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Registration
- N3659T · registry record · serial 301-0329
- 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 of an aerial applicator airplane landed his airplane on a road that had an uneven surface and was covered with lose gravel. The road had mature corn growing along its edges. The pilot said his left wing tip struck the corn as the airplane touched down. Furrows in the gravel showed the airplane had turned about 45-degrees to the left shortly after touch down. The furrows continued into and through a ditch and into the corn where the airplane came to a stop.
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: 3,417 hours in all; 300 in this make and model; 250 in the last 90 days; 100 in the last 30 days; 3,407 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 6,417 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 2, 1997; 300 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W R-1340AN1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RLA
- Destination: RLA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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 N3659T 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.