Air Tractor AT-401 accident near Calexico, California, February 4, 2005
On February 4, 2005 at about 9:15 pm local time, a Air Tractor AT-401, registered N4530L, was substantially damaged in an accident near Calexico, California (Johnson Brothers 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
a loss of directional control due to a jammed rudder pedal, which prevented the pilot from exercising full rudder control authority.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 4, 2005 · about 9:15 pm local time
- Place
- Calexico, California · Johnson Brothers Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT-401
- Registration
- N4530L · no longer on the register · serial 401-0761
- 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 airplane veered off the runway, collided with a berm, and came to rest in a ditch following a loss of control during landing. During the landing flare the pilot encountered a left crosswind and he input right rudder to compensate for the crosswind, but the pedal would not move. After the accident the pilot noticed that he was still depressing the right rudder pedal. He looked down and saw that the rudder pedal adjusting pin was caught on the aft edge of the hopper. When he relaxed pressure on the rudder pedal, the pedal moved to the left and was free of the hopper. Post accident examination by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed a groove the pin had carved into the side wall of the hopper over time. The groove began at a radius in the hopper wall where the wall turned 90 degrees from a cross cockpit orientation to a longitudinal direction. When he depressed the rudder pedal, he noted that the adjusting pin contacted the groove the entire length of travel. He further noted that despite the contact of the pin in the groove, there was no restriction of movement of the rudder pedal. A gouge dimensionally identical in shape and size to the pin was observed in the hopper just to the right of where the adjusting pin contacted the groove. The FAA inspector noted no groove or gouge on the left side of the hopper.
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: 4,800 hours in all; 1,200 in this make and model; 150 in the last 90 days; 50 in the last 30 days; 4,700 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: April 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: ctr
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 7,154 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 1, 2005; 101 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 7,860 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Garrett TPE-331 (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 61CL Calexico CA at 9:00 pm
- Destination: 61CL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 9, 2,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 29.98 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from IPL, 10 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 N4530L 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.