Air Tractor AT-502 accident near Paragould, Arkansas, March 20, 1997
On March 20, 1997 at about 6:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502, registered N7319Y, was destroyed in an accident near Paragould, Arkansas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees resulting in jammed control surfaces. A factor was that aircraft control was not possible by the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 20, 1997 · about 6:30 pm local time
- Place
- Paragould, Arkansas
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502
- Registration
- N7319Y · no longer on the register · serial 502-0013
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that he entered the field and felt a 'hard right hand pressure that he could not correct.' The pilot next remembers that the 'stick suddenly went sloppy.' The airplane flew over a row of 30 to 40 foot high trees and impacted the ground with the right wing low. A witness, in the first field, reported that she heard a loud 'pop,' and she looked up to see the airplane flying southeast across the field. She stated that the airplane was 'corkscrewing all the way around, maybe 3 or 4 times, before it went over the tree-line and out of sight.' She further stated that 'one wing was bent 90 degrees in half (at the midway point).' Another witness reported that he saw the airplane coming over the trees with 'something hanging down under the left wing at about the midpoint (like a support brace).' The witness further stated that 'at the same midpoint area of the left wing, he noticed that the leading edge was funny or something was flapping around.' Postcrash examination of the wreckage revealed the left wing leading edge was found crushed aft to the spar at the midpoint and the left wing spray boom was dented/bent approximately 2.5 feet inboard from the outboard end.
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: 9,056 hours in all; 3,572 in this make and model; 76 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,035 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 16, 1997; 50 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-28 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PGR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,900 ft
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:54 pm from JBR, 18 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.