Air Tractor AT-502B accident near Pond Creek, Oklahoma, April 28, 2003
On April 28, 2003 at about 4:00 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B, registered N60819, was destroyed in an accident near Pond Creek, Oklahoma (Homestead Farms 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 attain adequate airspeed during liftoff resulting in a stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 28, 2003 · about 4:00 pm local time
- Place
- Pond Creek, Oklahoma · Homestead Farms Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Registration
- N60819 · no longer on the register · serial AT502-353
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 19,368-hour pilot reported that during the takeoff roll, the airplane failed to become airborne from a 2,860-foot asphalt and gravel airstrip. He pulled the emergency hopper dump lever and dumped the liquid fertilizer load. The airplane lifted off the runway, stalled, and dragged the right wingtip on the ground. Subsequently, the airplane exited the departure end of the runway and impacted a 5-foot fence pole with the right wing. The airplane came to rest approximately 150 feet from the departure end of the runway in an upright position when a fire consumed the airplane.
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: 19,368 hours in all; 5,000 in this make and model; 19,160 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,480 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 21, 2003; 200 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 9,400 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Pratt & Whitney PT6A-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Homestead Farms Flying Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: O66 Pond Creek OK at 4:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 2,860 ft by 24 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 320° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.93 inHg
- Observation at 3:50 pm from WDG, 19 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.
Other NTSB records under N60819 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.