Air Tractor AT-502 accident near Helena, Arkansas, August 14, 2000
On August 14, 2000 at about 12:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502, registered N73184, was substantially damaged in an accident near Helena, Arkansas. 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 obstacle clearance. A contributing factor was the sun glare.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 14, 2000 · about 12:30 pm local time
- Place
- Helena, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502
- Registration
- N73184 · no longer on the register · serial 502-0010
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
This was the pilot's first flight of the morning, and he had completed spraying 35 acres of cotton. The pilot was flying from east to west, and had crossed over some trees and dropped down for a swath run when the right wing struck an irrigation sprinkler pivot. About 5-6 feet of the right wing and half of its aileron separated from the airplane. The pilot flew the airplane back to the staging strip and landed without further incident. The pilot stated that the sun was in his eyes, and it hampered him from seeing the irrigation pivot in time to avoid it.
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
- Flight time: 1,902 hours in all; 1,098 in this make and model; 443 in the last 90 days; 185 in the last 30 days; 1,831 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,443 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, August 8, 2000; 6 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,200 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 12:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 181°F (83°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.