Air Tractor AT-502B accident near Marvel, Arkansas, July 21, 1999
On July 21, 1999 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-502B, registered N6073U, was substantially damaged in an accident near Marvel, Arkansas (Phillips CO. Flying Serv. airport). 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 attain the proper takeoff airspeed.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 21, 1999 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Marvel, Arkansas · Phillips CO. Flying Serv. · 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
- N6073U · no longer on the register · serial AT502B-0355
- 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 takeoff from a private airstrip, the aerial application airplane skimmed the top of a cotton field. When the pilot took off with a 'heavy load of fertilizer.' The airplane departed to the north on a half paved, half turf runway measuring approximately 3,000 feet long. An examination was conducted of the accident site revealing that a thin-walled plastic pipe carrying water for crops had been hit by the airplane. There was evidence that the airplane continued to 'skim the top of a cotton field for 2,000 feet.' The airplane came to rest inverted in the cotton 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: 1,700 hours in all; 500 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,500 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 20, 1998; 500 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 8,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6-34AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NONE at 4:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,560 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 225° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 95°F (35°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.
Other NTSB records under N6073U 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.