Air Tractor AT-400 accident near Alvin, Texas, August 27, 1982
On August 27, 1982 at about 11:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-400, registered N3657J, was substantially damaged in an accident near Alvin, Texas. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 27, 1982 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Alvin, Texas
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-400
- Registration
- N3657J · no longer on the register · serial 4000315
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PILOT HAD FINISHED SPRAYING A FIELD AND WAS SURVEYING ANOTHER FIELD FOR HIS NEXT DAY OPERATION WHEN THE AIRCRAFT ENGINE FLAMED OUT. HE LANDED THE AIRCRAFT IN A SOYBEAN FIELD AND GROUND-LOOPED THE AIRCRAFT TO PREVENT HITTING TREES AT THE EDGE OF THE FIELD. THE PILOT STATED THAT THE "FUEL FILTER WAS STOPPED UP".
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: 6,417 hours in all; 400 in this make and model; 100 in the last 90 days; 6,167 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 415 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded; 205 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-15AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Everidge Bros. Aero Farming In
The flight
- Departed from: Alvin TX
- Destination: Alvin TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; clear
- Temperature: 181°F (83°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:49 pm from HOU, 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.
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.