Air Tractor AT 400 accident near Lemoore, California, June 2, 1992
On June 2, 1992 at about 7:30 am local time, a Air Tractor AT 400, registered N7307V, was destroyed in an accident near Lemoore, California. 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 OBSERVE THE PRESENCE OF AN OBSTACLE IN THE FIELD. FACTORS WHICH CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT WERE THE DARK NIGHTTIME LIGHT CONDITION, AND THE SMALL SIZE AND COLOR OF THE OBSTACLE WHICH DECREASED THE CONSPICUITY OF THE OBJECT.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 2, 1992 · about 7:30 am local time
- Place
- Lemoore, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Air Tractor AT 400
- Registration
- N7307V · no longer on the register · serial 400-0612
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE 18,350-HOUR COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS PERFORMING A NIGHTTIME AERIAL APPLICATION FLIGHT AND HAD MADE SEVERAL PASSES OVER THE FIELD. DURING THE LAST PASS THE AIRPLANE'S LEFT WING COLLIDED WITH A RUST COLORED VENT PIPE, AND THE AIRPLANE CRASHED INTO THE FIELD. OTHER WHITE COLORED VENT PIPES WERE LOCATED IN THE FIELD AND WERE NOT DAMAGED.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 18,350 hours in all; 1,400 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days; 75 in the last 30 days; 18,200 as pilot in command; 150 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,386 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, April 13, 1992; 46 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: P&W PT6A-34AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
- Operator: Blair Air Service
The flight
- Destination: NONE
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 337° at 2 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 23°F (-5°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.