Air Tractor AT-402 accident near Forrest City, Arkansas, May 7, 1998
On May 7, 1998 at about 12:06 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-402, registered N91660, was substantially damaged in an accident near Forrest City, Arkansas. 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 pilot's failure to maintain clearance with terrain. Factors were the sunglare and the pilot's restriction to visibility due to chemicals on the windshield.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 7, 1998 · about 12:06 pm local time
- Place
- Forrest City, Arkansas · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-402
- Registration
- N91660 · no longer on the register · serial 402-0903
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The agricultural airplane impacted a levee while spraying herbicides on a rice field. According to the pilot, after completing 6 passes over the field, the drifting chemicals covered the windshield. The pilot stated that he used the airplane's window washer; however, the washer was ineffective in clearing the chemicals from the windshield. On the next pass, while travelling from west to east into the rising sun, the main landing gear of the airplane collided with a rice levee. The pilot added that the propeller was damaged and the landing gear was torn off by the impact. Subsequent to the propeller impact with the levee, the engine lost power and the airplane landed on a vacant field across the road from the field being sprayed, coming to rest in the upright position.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,200 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 175 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,660 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 27, 1998; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-27 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FCY at 11:45 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 5 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:51 am from MEM, 35 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.
Other NTSB records under N91660 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.