Air Tractor AT-400 accident near Huffman, Texas, July 2, 1996
On July 2, 1996 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-400, registered N501JS, was substantially damaged in an accident near Huffman, Texas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
corroded flight control components, due to the operator's inadequate maintenance and inspection of the airplane; the pilot's failure to follow procedures and directives, by flying the airplane without proper maintenance and annual inspection; and subsequent failure of a corroded flight control component.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 2, 1996 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Huffman, Texas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-400
- Registration
- N501JS · registry record · serial 0485
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
After completing aerial application, the pilot entered a right base turn to final approach for landing at a private dirt airstrip. During the turn, a witness observed the 'the left wing' go down and 'also the nose.' The airplane crashed in a left wing low (descending) attitude. The pilot/mechanic had performed maintenance on the aircraft and had certified on March 1, 1995, that the 'aircraft has been inspected in accordance with an annual inspection and was determined to be in an airworthy condition.' Postaccident examination revealed that the empennage flight controls exhibited severe corrosion. The left elevator bellcrank assembly elevator horn was found separated from the control rod elevator torque tube. The left stabilizer strut lower attachment was separated where the tube of the strut was welded to the 'U' shaped attachment bracket. Examination of the 'U' bracket only revealed corroded remnants of the forward bracket and no evidence of the edge welds that joined the bracket pieces together. Fracture surfaces on the elevator horn were consistent with overstress separation. Manufacturing specifications required a 0.080 inch steel sheet for the elevator horn. Over the majority of the horn and near the control rod attachment fracture, the thickness was as low as 0.059 inches.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 25,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,735 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 1995
- Maximum gross weight: 6,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-15AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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 N501JS 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.