Air Tractor AT-502B accident near Bay City, Texas, October 7, 1999
On October 7, 1999 at about 9:20 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B, registered N61768, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bay City, Texas. 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 pilot's inadvertent stall. A factor was the pilot's encounter with the airplane's wake turbulence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 7, 1999 · about 9:20 pm local time
- Place
- Bay City, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Registration
- N61768 · no longer on the register · serial 502B-0387
- 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 completed the 8th seeding pass over a field and was turning to make the 9th pass when the agricultural airplane shuddered and made three uncommanded banks prior to impacting the terrain. The pilot initially stated that he flew through his own wake turbulence and stalled the airplane while in a 60-degree bank to the right. However, the pilot later stated that he thought the propeller may have malfunctioned resulting in the loss of airplane control. Post-accident examination of the airplane flight controls and the propeller revealed no anomalies that would have prevented normal operation of the aircraft prior to the accident.
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: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 20,000 hours in all; 6,000 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 30 in the last 30 days; 19,900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,425 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 14, 1999; 396 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,400 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3R1 at 9:06 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:52 pm from PSX, 25 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.
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.