Air Tractor AT-400 accident near Sudan, Texas, August 25, 1997
On August 25, 1997 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-400, registered N3654G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Sudan, Texas. 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 loss of engine power due to the failure of a compressor turbine blade. A factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 25, 1997 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Sudan, Texas · map
- 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
- N3654G · registry record · serial 400-0281
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During the aerial application flight, the engine of the agricultural airplane lost power, and the pilot executed a forced landing in a cotton field. During the ground roll across the furrows in the field, the left main wheel separated from the landing gear leg, and subsequently, the right main landing gear leg separated from the fuselage. Examination of the engine revealed that a blade failure at the compressor turbine disk had occurred resulting in extensive damage to the hot section of the engine and the complete loss of engine power.
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, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 300 in the last 90 days; 2,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (invalid medical for flight)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-20 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°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.