Air Tractor AT-502B accident near Ringling, Oklahoma, October 8, 1998
On October 8, 1998 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B, registered N502S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Ringling, Oklahoma. 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 obstacle clearance. A factor was the sun glare which impaired the pilot's vision.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 8, 1998 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Ringling, Oklahoma · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-502B
- Registration
- N502S · no longer on the register · serial 502B-0456
- 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 collided with poles and wires of a power line while applying chemical to a wheat field. At the time of the collision, the airplane was heading west, and the sun 'obstructed' the pilot's vision. Following the collision, which damaged the airplane's rudder, left flap, left spray boom, and fuselage, the pilot landed the airplane in a pasture approximately one mile north of the field.
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: 8,000 hours in all; 2,500 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 465 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 15, 1998; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,860 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Superior Ag-Air, INC.
The flight
- Departed from: F22 Perry OK at 9:15 pm
- Destination: Byers TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 140° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 30,000 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from LAW, 45 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 N502S 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.