Air Tractor AT-301 accident near Alamosa, Colorado, August 18, 2007
On August 18, 2007 at about 1:52 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-301, registered N69WN, was substantially damaged in an accident near Alamosa, Colorado. 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 failure of the number one cylinder due to fatigue. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's diminished visual lookout due to the oil covered windscreen.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 2007 · about 1:52 pm local time
- Place
- Alamosa, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-301
- Registration
- N69WN · registry record · serial 301-0683
- 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 was conducting aerial applications of anti-sprouting chemicals when the number one cylinder head separated. The windscreen was covered in oil, obscuring the pilot's view. The pilot dropped his chemical load and performed a forced landing to a dirt road. During the landing, the left wing impacted a sand berm and the airplane nosed over, coming to rest inverted, and resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported no additional anomalies with the airplane's systems. Examination of the fracture surface revealed fatigue cracking initiated from multiple locations in a root of the head threads and propagated in an arc to the outer surface of the combustion chamber wall.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all; 1,000 in this make and model; 130 in the last 90 days; 60 in the last 30 days; 3,950 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: May 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,109 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 5,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1340 ANI (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MVI Monte Vista CO at 1:30 pm
- Destination: MVI Monte Vista CO
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 57°F (14°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.29 inHg
- Observation at 1:52 pm from ALS
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.