Air Tractor AT-602 accident near Benoit, Mississippi, April 30, 2007
On April 30, 2007 at about 6:00 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-602, registered N629LA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Benoit, Mississippi (Crop Duster Airstrip 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's failure to maintain clearance with the crops which resulted in a ground loop. A contributing factor was the narrow airstrip
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 30, 2007 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Benoit, Mississippi · Crop Duster Airstrip
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-602
- Registration
- N629LA · no longer on the register · serial 602-0629
- 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 right spray boom from the tailwheel equipped agricultural airplane became entangled with tall wheat while landing on a narrow gravel airstrip. The 2,236-hour commercial pilot, who reported having accumulated a total of 128 hours in the same make and model of airplane, lost control of the airplane resulting in a ground-loop. The aft section of the fuselage sustained structural damage. The turbine powered airplane came to rest in an upright position and the pilot was able to exit unassisted. The wheat was displaced approximately four feet from the airstrip's left edge and was growing adjacent to the right edge. Earlier that day, the pilot reported that he had observed wheat entangled in the right spray boom following two previous landings on the same airstrip. An examination of the airplane's right wheel at the accident site revealed that it was free to rotate and that the right brake was not dragging. The wind velocity at the time of the accident was reported between 1 to 3 knots.
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: 2,236 hours in all; 128 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 2,200 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,068 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 12,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-60A (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Shelby Air Service, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: Benoit MS
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,000 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°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 N629LA 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.