Air Tractor AT-502 accident near Mcgehee, Arkansas, March 19, 1998
On March 19, 1998 at about 11:58 am local time, a Air Tractor AT-502, registered N10035, was destroyed in an accident near Mcgehee, Arkansas. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent flight into adverse weather conditions resulting in the loss of control due to spatial disorientation. Factors were the fog and low ceiling, and the inadequate flight instruments available to the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- March 19, 1998 · about 11:58 am local time
- Place
- Mcgehee, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502
- Registration
- N10035 · registry record · serial 502-0020
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The instrument rated commercial pilot lost control of the agricultural airplane while attempting to return to his home base airstrip after heavy fog formed in the early dawn. Physical evidence at the accident site indicates that the airplane impacted trees and terrain in a nose low attitude in a right turn, at a high rate of speed. Flight instruments installed in the 1988 model turbine powered airplane amounted an altimeter, an airspeed indicator, and a slip indicator. There were no reported eye witnesses to the accident. Examination of the wreckage at the accident site and a review of the aircraft maintenance records did not disclose any anomalies or evidence of pre-impact malfunction that could have prevented normal operations.
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: 14,246 hours in all; 2,024 in this make and model; 5 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,612 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 5, 1998; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,500 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 090° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 50°F (10°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.