Air Tractor AT-400 accident near Tranquillity, California, July 17, 1998
On July 17, 1998 at about 5:05 am local time, a Air Tractor AT-400, registered N2373V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tranquillity, 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 detect and avoid a set of wires during a night aerial application flight. Factors in the accident were the pilot's failure to perform an adequate preflight inspection of the field to determine obstruction locations and the dark night lighting conditions.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 17, 1998 · about 5:05 am local time
- Place
- Tranquillity, 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
- N2373V · no longer on the register · serial 400-0426
- 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 pilot said that this was the first flight at a new field, and he had not visually inspected the field before spraying it. He made a pass over the field to check for wires, and did not see any. On the second pass he saw a steel power cable strung between poles that was in his flight path. The pilot stated that it was too late to pull up to avoid the cable, and he pushed the nose of the aircraft down to fly underneath it. The aircraft, equipped with a wire deflector, struck a telephone wire underneath the initial steel cable. The wire deflector and the vertical stabilizer separated from the aircraft. The pilot began to lose directional and roll control, and he pushed the nose towards the ground and made a forced landing. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the engine or flight controls prior to striking the wires. The night was dark with no moon.
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: 20,000 hours in all; 8,000 in this make and model; 200 in the last 90 days; 70 in the last 30 days; 20,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 8,189 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 2, 1998; 762 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 6,600 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: P&W PT-6A-15AG (turboprop); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Tranquility CA at 4:40 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 320° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Observation at 4:55 am from NLC, 25 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.
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.