Air Tractor AT-402 accident near Cary, Mississippi, August 20, 2007
On August 20, 2007 at about 2:15 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-402, registered N1027V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cary, Mississippi. 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).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The total loss of engine power due to a power turbine failure. Contributing to the accident were the lack of suitable terrain available to pilot for the forced landing and the low altitude.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 2007 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Cary, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-402
- Registration
- N1027V · registry record · serial 401-0742
- 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 9,901-hour commercial pilot lost control of the tail wheel-equipped airplane while performing aerial application. According to the pilot, the engine produced an "explosion" like noise prior to a total loss of engine power. The pilot was then forced to land the airplane in a cotton and soybean field. Upon landing, the airplane sustained damage to the propeller blades, both main landing gears, both wings, the fuselage, and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that at the time of the mishap the airplanes' altitude was approximately be 5 to 10 feet above ground level, resulting in a lack of suitable terrain for forced landing. Teardown and examination of the engine revealed the failure was initiated by a compressor turbine guide vane ring crack at a weld repair that released material into the compressor turbine blades.
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: 9,901 hours in all; 4,600 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 150 in the last 30 days; 9,833 as pilot in command; 0 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 1, 2007
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: sngl
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 10,200 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 1, 2007
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT-6A-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Blanton MS at 2:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 30.05 inHg
- Observation at 1:53 pm from KTVR, 30 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number DFW07LA187.