Air Tractor AT-602 accident near Ulysses, Kansas, April 11, 2006
On April 11, 2006 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-602, registered N50669, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ulysses, Kansas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the loss of engine power due to fuel starvation. A contributing factor was the impact with a ditch during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 11, 2006 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Ulysses, Kansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-602
- Registration
- N50669 · registry record · serial 602-0447
- 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 departed a private airstrip approximately 1 hour prior to the accident with approximately 140 gallons of fuel. He sprayed one field with a power setting of 80 gallons per hour fuel burn, then sprayed a second field with a power setting of 75 gallons per hour fuel burn. After spraying the second field, the pilot noted the fuel gauges indicated 1/4 fuel in the left tank, and 1/8 fuel in the right tank. He turned on the fuel boost pump and sprayed passes on the west end of the field using a back to back pattern, running north and south with right and left turns. The last pass was to the north. He pulled up over power lines and turned right (downwind) for the local airstrip located 3 miles away. The engine lost power, and the pilot attempted a restart. The engine started "for a second" and then lost power again. The pilot then landed straight ahead, downwind, in a hilly corn field. The airplane impacted a ditch at the end of the field collapsing the main landing gear. Examination of the airframe revealed the fuselage and firewall were buckled. An airframe manufacturer's service letter provided guidance to the Owner/Operator in preventing and/or minimizing the imbalance of the fuel level between the left and right main fuel tanks, which could lead to fuel starvation if one tank goes dry. The fuel imbalance can result from migration of fuel from one tank to the other, or uneven fuel flow to the header tank.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,351 hours in all; 206 in this make and model; 117 in the last 90 days; 54 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-45-3R (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Ulysses KS
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- 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.
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.