Ayres S2R-1820 accident near Dundee, Mississippi, June 18, 1986
On June 18, 1986 at about 11:50 am local time, a Ayres S2R-1820, registered N4023P, was destroyed in an accident near Dundee, Mississippi. It was an aerial application (crop spraying) flight under agricultural flying rules (Part 137). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 18, 1986 · about 11:50 am local time
- Place
- Dundee, Mississippi · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Ayres S2R-1820
- Registration
- N4023P · no longer on the register · serial R1820-003DC
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Aerial application (crop spraying) flight · agricultural flying rules (Part 137)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AG ACFT WAS FLYING LOW OVER A WATER COVERED MUDDY RICE FIELD WHEN THE ENG STOPPED RUNNING. THE PLT THEN JETTISONED THE LOAD OF FERTILIZER & ENTERED A STEEP RIGHT TURN. SUBSEQUENTLY, THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK THE GROUND ON THE RIGHT WING & NOSE, THEN CARTWHEELED. A WITNESS STATED THAT HE THOUGHT THE PLT MAY HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO TURN BACK SO AS TO LAND ON A DIRT ROAD. ONLY RESIDUAL FUEL WAS FOUND IN OR AROUND THE ACFT AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE SURVIVING FLAGMAN/PAX STATED THAT HE WAS SURE THE ACFT HAD NOT BEEN REFUELED PRIOR TO THE FLT. THIS WAS THE LAST FLT OF THE DAY.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 14,100 hours in all; 2,400 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,807 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 24, 1986; 225 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 10,000 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Wright R-1820-97 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Tunica MS at 11:45 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 12 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:48 am from MEM, 38 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.